Blue Beetle
by RougeMiner
Summary: My name is Abigail Wilson. I have had a hard life these past few years. It's confusing, it's painful, but it's a story and it all starts with the explosion. The explosion that brought me to the Bug and the Bug to me...
1. Chapter 1

I don't own this version of the story. That belongs to the creators of Young Justice

A young teenage boy, and a young teenage girl could be seen riding down the dark streets of El Paso, Texas on their skateboards, flashing in and out of the street lights, returning home after an hour in the skate park. That teenage girl is me and the teenage boy is my friend Jaime Reyes. Jaime had taught me about a year ago, and now I'm a pro. As we rode, he talked to his mother, explaining his late return home.

"Yeah, I know it's past curfew mom, but we're practically home. We're taking a shortcut across Kord parking lot now. Hasta Pronto" He hung up and put his phone in his pocket as we rode past the large . He sighed as I pulled up next to him.

"Jeez, she's protective." I said, elbowing him lightly. He rubbed the back of his neck, a small blush appearing on his face.

"Yeah she can be-" Suddenly, the top story of the Kord Industries building exploded, sending debris and fire everywhere. The force of it sent us flying off our boards and onto the ground. Thankfully, we were wearing helmets, so it didn't hurt as much as it would if we weren't, but I knew we'd still be pretty banged up. We got up quickly, staring at the smoking building. I looked at Jamie to ask a question, and ended up shrieking.

"Jaime! Your clothes are on fire!" I ripped at his clothing, pulling it off him. He shook himself free of it.

"Thanks. _Ay,_ I really liked that shirt." I laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll get you exactly the same one for your birthday." Suddenly, in the corner of my eye, I saw a glint of deep blue. I turned to it and picked it up.

"Cool. Hey Jaime, check this out." He looked over and whistled.

"Awesome." It was a beetle, dark blue and metallic. The surface was shiny and hard, making it seem otherworldly and awesome. But inside, I could feel a slight heat, like it was alive and powerful. Before I could examine it anymore, the legs wriggled violently. Out of instinct, I dropped it, but it didn't fall to the ground. Instead, it crawled up my arm and down the back of my shirt, stopping right between my shoulder blades.

"AH! Get it off! Get it off!" I screamed. Jaime tried ripping off my shirt to get it, but then I felt a piercing pain in my back, going through my skin, going through my spine. Screaming louder than ever, I felt something long and metallic swing up from behind me, around my waist and across my collar bone, tearing through my shirt. Looking at what the thing was, I saw two long beetle arm things, exactly the same color and material as the beetle that was now on my back. Then, something hard started spreading across my body, like cold, flat stones rolling over my skin. I looked and saw something like the substance that made up the arms crawling across my body like a virus.

"Jaime!" I screamed as the stuff crawled up my neck and onto my face. But he just stood there, horrified as it wrapped around my head, and an orange substance covered my eyes. As soon as it all started, the pain and crawling sensation stopped, and I stood there, hunched over and panting.

"What. The. Heck. Happened?" My voice sounded different, slightly metallic and robotic, as if there was a voice modifier in front of my mouth. Jaime stood in front of me, his mouth open and his eyes wide.

"Abigail, you look cool!"

"Really? I got strange stuff all over my body, and all you can do is compliment my appearance?" I asked, angry at his nerve to do something like that. He shook his head.

"No! I agree, that was extremely terrifying, but the stuff is like blue and black armor. Makes you look like a superhero"

"Yeah, well I'm not a superhero, nor am I ever going to be one." I breathed deeply and stood up straight. The place where the beetle was stung like crazy, but I ignored it as I tried walking. The metallic stuff had wrapped down my legs and onto my feet, so I was basically wearing metallic shoes and jeans. Not the most comfy thing, but bearable. As I walked, Jamie came up next to me and wrapped an arm around me to support my weight.

"So what was that explosion?" He asked.

"An explosion of some sort. Bet the police will figure it out by next week." I could hear sirens getting closer and closer.

"Speaking of which, the police are coming and I'm in this armor thingy!" I looked down at the suit with hatred. Can you come off? Suddenly, with a loud clanking, the suit was drawn back to my back, bringing only a slight twinge of pain. The arms around my shoulders and waist retracted, and I found myself standing in my old clothes, which were surprisingly not ripped.

"Well then, we better get out of here before the police arrive. Let's talk about this later." He nodded, grabbed our boards, and we took a running start before taking a leap onto the boards. With the loud sirens and screeching cars behind us, I almost didn't feel something... **stirring** in the back of my mind. But I brushed it off, figuring it was just the adrenaline rush of the night wearing off. Boy was I wrong...


	2. Chapter 2

**~Chapter 2- So It Begins~**

 _The Next Day_

I opened my eyes and the first thing I noticed was the immense soreness in my back.

"Ow…" I rolled over onto my stomach, but the pain didn't decrease.

"What the heck is making me hurt like this?"

 _I have bonded myself to your spine and the events from last night have left your spine sensitive and slightly infected._

I jumped and looked around, trying to find the male voice that just spoke, but no one was there. Then the thing that happened last night came back to me and I realized what was happening.

"Alright, I'm just sick. I'm hearing things cause I'm sick. And my back is sore because during the night, I fell off the bed and onto something on the ground. I also bumped my head really badly. Everything was just a dream."

 _You are neither sick nor are you injured in the head. Everything from the previous night are all true. The only sign of virus is a slight infection in your spine, but I am healing it._ The voice sounded again.

"Where are you?!" I nearly yelled, now really, really scared. "What's going on?!" I backed up into the door and that amount of movement reflected in my mirror, so I instinctively glanced over. When I did, I saw something blue, which didn't make sense. My night clothes consisted of a gray tanktop and black shorts and neither had a drop of blue on them. Slowly, I turned until my head couldn't turn any more, but it was enough to see what the blue was. My stomach lurched and I threw open the door, ran across the hall to the bathroom and hunched over the toilet. I was trembling and it felt as if I was about to lose everything in my stomach.

 _Do not be afraid of it._

"No, it's not real. I'm still dreaming," I whispered.

 _You are not in any stage of human sleep._

"Not real. I'll just look again and the thing will be gone and I'll wake up on another Monday morning and go to school. There's nothing there, no voice in my head. Nothing." I took a deep breath and stood up and looked in the mirror again. It was still there. The strange blue metal bug that had stabbed my back last night in front of the Kord building. It was there and even though I was standing straight up, it wasn't falling off. It was staying right in place, the skin around the pincers purple and bruised.

"Oh my god…" I reached back and managed to brush the metal. It was cool and still, but it buzzed slightly, as if it was actually alive.

"It's real. A weird invention from Kord Industries has attached itself to my back. Oh god…" I collapsed to my knees and looked at the ground.

 _Abigail Wilson, your heartbeat is speeding up to beyond normal._

"Yeah, cause I'm terrified. I don't know what's happening- wait, how do you know my name?"

 _As you slept, I went through your memories and learned everything about your life._

"Well, I guess you can't help it if you're attached to me… I'm going to try and take this as seriously as possible. FIrst of all, who and what are you?"

 _I am a piece of artificial intelligence and I have no designation._

"Were you created by Kord Industries? You know, the place where you came soaring out of last night?"

 _Unknown. My memory files start when you picked me up. Your organic energy activated my programming and I bonded with you._

"So you don't know who created you and you don't have a name. I'll just call you… I'll keep that on hold until I figure out a bit more about you and what you can do."

 _One Year Later_

The bug has been kept between Jaime and myself only. We decided early on that if anyone were to find out, I'd be taken to S.T.A.R. Labs or some other science place and they would experiment me. We also realized that there was no way of removing it without surgical stuff, and in the process, telling the entire world about the bug. So yeah, I'm stuck with a piece of tech fused to my back, and I needed to hide it. At school, I would wear slightly baggy shirts, to hide the lump. Yes, I would get teased about it. Yes, I would get bullied, but as long as none of them found out I was a freak, I was fine.

The suit thing from the first night had not come out at all, thank god. Well, that's not totally true, it did come out, but not fully. I had gotten very angry and the arms swung over my shoulders and the virus stuff spread across my back. It covered to my hands and they started turning into huge gun things. The bug started to scream at me to kill the person that had annoyed me. I had learned to control my anger. And despite how smart it claimed to be, the bug didn't help with school work at all!

Life was normal, but once again, my life is changed again by one night. How cliche is that? The night it changed again, I was at Jaime's house, doing some literature homework.

"So, we just need to explain all the poem stuff on one piece of paper?" I asked, waving the paper in his face. He nodded, swatting it away.

"Yeah, but the problem is, I didn't really listen. So I don't know how to explain the stuff, or what to really do."

"Really Jaime? You're supposed to be the smart one." He looked offended by that statement.

"I am, I just didn't get enough sleep last night, so I didn't pay attention." I rolled my eyes, and returned to the project. As we worked, I started getting antsy. I needed to do something, or at least listen to something that would keep me occupied.

" _Hermano, t_ urn the radio on please." He nodded and flicked it on. Some weird music came on, not what I like to listen to on a daily basis, but still music.

"Thanks, so for the project, we need to do what exactly?" He sighed and put all the stuff away.

"We're both too distracted. Let's do this tomorrow, anyways, it's not due until next week. We can do it some other time." I nodded, shoving all the stuff away.

"Wanna go skating at the park." I nodded enthusiastically.

"You know me too well" We got up and I ran to the door. As I grabbed the knob, the music stopped, and the sound of an announcement came through the radio. Great, I just want to go, but my mother wants me to listen to any news reports. Sighing, I sat down in front of the radio, waiting for it to finish.

"We apologize for interrupting your daily music, but this just in, there has been a robbery at the El Paso Local Bank. The robbers presently hold ten hostages inside the building, three children and seven adults, and police are going to start negotiating in a minute." We looked at each other as there was a quick silence.

"The robbers demand for $100,000,000 in cash from citizens.", The news guy said, returning to the air, "So please, for the sake of the hostages inside, donate as much as you can or are willing to donate." The announcement turned off, and the music started up again, as if nothing had happened.

"What the heck? Whenever something happens here, none of the heroes like Batman or Flash are visiting. Their all the way in Gotham and Central City." I said, slumping over slightly. Jaime gasped.

"We do have a hero though." I looked up. He was looking at me like I was an idiot. He kinda looked idiotic though, with that stupid grin on his face.

 _He wants you to go out and protect-_

 _No._

"I am NOT going to be some hero, Jaime! The beetle fused to my back a year ago, and I haven't had any experience with it at all. I don't even know how to turn the suit on!" He chuckled.

"Well, you did say once that it started turning on when you got mad. So get mad!" I scowled.

"No, I won't get mad. In fact, I'm not going to do anything. I don't want to be some hero in Spandex or something. So, no, I won't get mad and go be a hero." Suddenly, I realized that the suit was starting to crawl up my neck, around my torso and down my legs.

"JAIME! Gosh dang it!" The arms swung out and the stuff covered my face. My vision glowed orange as I stared at him angrily.

 _Hey, beetle, can you please let me get out._

 _No. You must learn to control the armor and discover its full purposes._

"Well, you got the suit on. Now go!" I sighed.

"Well how am I going to get there? I can't come driving up on my bike and say, 'Stop right there!' The only thing that'll do is get me arrested and sent to Arkham." He looked at my suit, then snapped his fingers.

"Can you fly? Remember when you wanted the suit to go away, all you did was think about it, and it was gone. Try asking the suit."

"Well, what do I have to lose?" I grumbled _. If you have anything that can get me to fly, activate it please._ I heard a sound, like metal across metal, then a mechanical humming. I looked behind me and saw two wings, dark blue outlines with the insides clear. I tried flapping them, but instead of them moving, I just lifted off the ground.

"I can fly." I whispered, looking at the ground below me.

"Yeah, go and save those people!" Jaime said, patting my foot, for that was the only part of me he could touch.

"How do I get out? It's not as if I could walk out the front door and call a taxi."

"Window!" He opened it and peered out.

"Well, no one's out, now go!" I sighed, then flew forward with difficulty. Eventually, I was standing on the window sill. I saluted Jamie.

"See ya if I don't die." I jumped from the window and imagined flying high above the house and towards the city. I felt the wings tighten and suddenly, I was soaring away from Jaime's house, and soaring towards the bright lights of the city. Oh, my, gosh. Flying is amazing. It's like swimming, having only something small holding you up and keeping you going, except with swimming, everyone can do it. But this is flying without a plan, I'm flying in a super suit, with wings. I whooped and spun around, my arms extended out like a bird. Wait…

"Hey, can you let my head and only my head out?"

 _Your identity must remain secret._

 _Oh come on. Jaime knows my ID and I can have the suit off._

 _He was a witness. He is allowed to know and if he didn't, we would've destroyed him._

 _No we wouldn't have._ I rolled my eyes and kept flying. Finally, the bank came in view, and I dived, heading towards the ground. As I got closer and closer to the ground, I realized that I didn't know how to land.

"GAH!" I face planted into the ground, bringing a loud crack, as the concrete broke. The police jumped back, then pulled out their guns.

"Freeze! Put your hands where we can see them!" One guy yelled as I stood up, rubbing my face.

 _Threat detected! Activating-_

 _No! They're just curious and defending themselves. Under no circumstances are you to pull a weapon out on the police._

"Hey, I just fell 50 feet and survived, can I at least celebrate how cool that is and moan in pain?" I moaned just to emphasize my point. That didn't really help my situation.

"Hands in the air!" Another yelled, cocking their gun.

 _No weapons._

"Jeez, tough crowd. Well, good people, I'm here to save the people in the-" There was a bang, and I threw up my hands, waiting for death, but it never came. Instead, I felt a pressure on my hand heard a thump, then the clinking of metal on the ground. I looked down and saw a bullet sitting on the ground, it's front crumpled into a lump, then at my hands. They were completely fine, not a scratch. So putting two and two together, I figured out I was bullet proof. Cool! The police person that had shot sighed.

"Fine. Stand down, let him go save them." Anger boiled inside me.

"Hey, I am a female. Just because the most well known heroes are all male, doesn't mean that there can't be a female. So if anyone asks, I am a girl, and I'm the one who's going to save your sorry butts." Then I turned and walked into the building, the cops staring at me as I entered. When I saw what was going on inside, I stopped dead in my tracks. Two men, each wearing a Batman mask, were holding guns to the children's head's while the adults poured money and valuables into a bag.

"C'mon, faster, or the kid gets it!" One guy said, pushing the gun harder into the kids temple. The kid and one of the women, possibly his mother, whimpered in fear.

"Hey!" The men turned, then laughed.

"Who are you supposed to be?" One guy asked, chuckling.

"I'm the one who's gonna stop you." I said. God! That sounded so cliche, I hate it, don't ever say that again. That only made them laugh harder.

"How? Are you going to blind us with your shiny suit? Or run us through with the pincers on your back?" I gulped. How was I going to stop them? They have guns, I have a suit thing that I had never used before tonight.

 _Hey, you got any small but effective weapons? You know, weapons that are not guns?_

 _Yes, but using weapons of destruction would be much more effective._

 _Whatever, just give me a sword or something._ I felt a tingling in my hand, and I looked at it to see that it had been replaced by a sharp blade. My hand wasn't even there anymore, it's almost as though my hand had become the blade. I grinned, now this is a weapon I can use. Running forward and ignoring the fear bubbling in my stomach, I ran at full speed towards the men. The robbers pulled their guns away as a field formed around the children, but turned them straight to me. As I ran, I heard the same thumps as earlier and knew that the armor was still bullet proof. I was drawing pretty close to them, so, I did the only thing reasonable. I swung my sword/hand/weapon thing. The robber yelped and dropped his gun, which was cut cleanly in half. His buddy stared at it, before firing at me. Again, only thumps and a tinkle of metal.

"Nice try, but I'm gonna have to take that. Hasn't anyone told you guns are not good?" I said, grinning, then I slice his gun in half as well. He backed up, afraid.

"What are you?" I chuckled.

"Honestly, I don't know."

 _Attack from behind!_ I turned just in time to see the other guy throwing a punch at my face. It hit me, but I didn't feel any pain. Obviously the guy did, cause he cried out in pain, clutching his hand, which was obviously broken. I turned my other hand into a sword, then pointed them at the two robbers.

"Alright, follow me outside. Stand in front of me so I can see you." They did as I asked and I led them outside, where police rushed to handcuff them and rescue the hostages. One walked up to me.

"Thank you. What do you want in payment?" My heart leaped, do they really think that of me?

"Nothing." Then I jumped into the air and flew away, my head buzzing. As I flew, I realized something. I had just survived guns, rescued ten people and I had survived.

 _Let me out at this next building._

 _Your identity must remain secret._

 _Screw my identity! I just want out for five minutes, please._ I landed on the tallest building in the city, and the suit retracted into my back. I collapsed onto my knees, breathing heavily and shaking.

"Oh god, oh god." I felt my hands begin to shake as I curled into a ball. For maybe ten minutes, I lay there, crying quietly. As I cried, I heard sirens blaring below, heading to the prison. I could hear the crowds of people talking about how someone in blue armor had saved them. But I didn't care. I didn't want to do this ever again. Never again am I risking my life for some people or am I being a hero.


	3. Chapter 3

_~Seven Months Later~_

"Hurry! Hurry!" I yelled over my shoulder.

"I'm trying!" Jaime screamed back, jumping a curb and rushing after me. Now you may think that we were running from a monster or a villain. Close, but not right. It was a monster that haunted every high school student ever.

We had missed our bus.

 _If this 'school' is so important, you must use the armor to achieve your goal._

"Not ever going to use that stuff again. Not for school, not for hero work. Nothing," I said, dodging between two civilians. Ever since the bank event, I hadn't put on the armor once. Unfortunately, the Bug didn't like that, so he shut off the mental link, so now if I want to talk to him, I have to answer verbally.

I had only come in contact with heroes three times in the past few months, and even then, I don't think they knew that I was what the press had named, 'Blue Beetle'. Captain Atom, Peacemaker, and one of the three Green Lanterns, all of them had passed through on some heroic mission or another. Atom had to fight some guy called Major Force and in the process, he nearly destroyed downtown El Paso. Lantern was just passing through and Peacemaker actually came up and talked to me… I don't know why.

"Come on, Jaime! Almost there!" I yelled as we approached the school. We skidded to a halt outside the doors and doubled over, panting and sweating.

"Catch our breath… then we can get… get inside and to… detention," Jaime said and I chuckled, clutching a stitch in my side.

"Yeah… see ya' first period." After a minute, we stood up, still sweating and panting, and headed to the door.

 _Incoming attack! Location: the six!_ I could feel the Scarab trying to use the armor, but I fought it back. It was probably a bird or another person or-

"Hey, Abigail!" I turned and saw a girl with long blonde hair running towards me. I glanced at Jaime, hoping that he knew who she was, but he looked just as confused as I was.

"Hey..." I said nervously as she put a hand on my shoulder.

"Do you have a minute to talk," she glanced at Jaime, "alone?"

"Sorry, no. I'm already late for school and-"

"It's about Blue Beetle." I stopped and looked at her, taking a step backwards.

"What do you mean?" Jaime asked defensively, stepping in front of me. I stepped back towards the doors and suddenly bumped into something tall and muscular. I turned around and saw a guy with pitch black hair that hung a bit over his shades, which reflected my terrified face.

"We come in peace," I heard the blonde say.

"Who's we?" I elbowed Jaime in the back as hard as I could.

"Ow! Ab, what-" he turned and saw the guy. His mouth snapped shut as the guy said, "'We' might be your new friends."

"OK, that's creepy. What's happening? Who are you and how do you know me?" I asked. The girl laughed.

"Told ya' Nightwing. Not a good idea to just go up to her and say, 'Hey, wanna be friends?' Especially with him here," she jerked her head at Jaime.

The guy, Nightwing, sighed, "Cassie, you're the only one who could've-" He stopped, and put his hand to his ear, as if listening to something. I saw his mouth open slightly, like in surprise or something.

"There's no time to lose. Miss. M., you and L.B are now the Gamma Squad. Take the Bio-Ship and head for the moon." Jaime leaned over to me and whispered, "Did he just send a person to the moon?" The girl, Cassie, held up her finger to quiet us as he continued.

"B.G., you take control of Beta. Harjavti still needs the Team's protection, but that doesn't mean we abandon one of our own!" I stood there awkwardly as he brought his hand away from his ear and walked up to Cassie.

As he did, I nudged Jaime, then nodded at the door. He nodded in agreement.

 _If you wish to escape, use of the armor is highly recommended. Incinerate them, plasma cannon at it's highest power._ I didn't respond as Jaime and I snuck to the door as silently as possible. I reached back to grab the door handle, but instead, I grabbed what seemed to be an arm.

 _Breach in defensive perimeter!_ I could feel the armor begging to form, but I fought it. This unfortunately meant that I needed to close my eyes, concentrated and slowly, the armor started to go away.

 _You are betraying weakness by not using the armor. If you do not use it, I will be forced to use it when the situation is dire._

"And at the moment, it isn't, " I groaned as the feeling finally went away.

"You can teleport? This day keeps getting better and better!" I heard Jaime say.

"Abigail, we're sorry for interrupting you, but we need to talk about something urgent with only you," he said, looking at Jaime pointidly. Jaim crossed his arms and glared at him.

"Whatever is so important can be said to me too. Especially if it's about Blue Beetle, I was there when she got powers."

" _Hermano!_ I want a secret identity!"

"What? They obviously know that you're the Blue Beetle," he argued and I sighed.

"Fine! Fine…. Go ahead and continue."

"We're out of uniform, but when we're in-uniform, I'm called Nightwing and Cassie here is Wonder Girl. Have you heard of us?"

I shook my head. "I've heard of Wonder Woman, but never Wonder Girl or Nightwing."

"Exactly what we want you to know. Now, have you ever heard of the Blue Beetle before you were dubbed that?" He held out his wrist and pressed the buttons on the watch wrapped around it. The face glowed blue and a small hologram of a man came to life in the glow. He was wearing a ridiculous outfit, so ridiculous, I won't even tell you.

"No, sorry."

"You sure? Old member of the Justice League? Hasn't been seen in months?" I shook my head again and Nightwing sighed. "He was my friend; I think that he'd have wanted us to help you. We're offering advice, training, experience, a chance to be with people that also struggle in controlling their powers, and the chance to be the failsafe if the League were to fall."

"So basically, you're offering the chance for her to be all she can? God, that sounds so cheesy," Jaime scoffed.

"He's being serious," Wonder Girl said defensively, "I had powers and wanted to be a hero, but didn't know how. I only joined a couple months ago. Nightwing and the others taught me how to be a hero. Well, they're working on it." She smiled bashfully.

I heard him mutter, "Obviously."

That's it. I grabbed his arm and pulled him away, switching to Spanish, his native language and my learnt language (also translated by the Scarab, but I wanted to think of it as me talking, not the Scarab).

" _Amigo, sé amable. Están tratando de ayudar, no seas tan grosero,"_ I said.

 _The Jaime Reyes is smart, unlike you in this situation, Abigail Reyes._ My anger flared even more as Jaime replied," _¿Por qué los defiendes? ¡No los conocemos!"_

" _¿Asi que? Obviamente saben lo que están haciendo, así que ¿por qué no confiar en ellos?"_

He threw his arms in the air in exasperation.

" _¡Lo que sea! ¡No digas que no te lo advertí más tarde!"_ he said, then turned back to Nightwing.

"Can't I at least talk to a real League member about this?" I asked.

"We believe that the League's leader, Captain Atom, is currently on the moon. Any others that you've come close to meeting are also unavailable," he said. ( _The Nightwing makes excuses! Do not trust him Abigail Wilson.)_ "How about this. There's an emergency in Gotham and we need to go help out. How about you come with to see how this life is?"

"What about school?" I asked. 

"We can send in a pass that'll let you out for the day," Nightwing said.

"Jaime? What's your opinion?"

"I don't have any powers and I can't be a part of this, so I don't exactly have a say," he said grumpily.

I thought about it for half a second, then nodded.

"I'll come with. But if I say no, can you promise to leave me alone and out of the hero stuff?"

"Of course," Nightwing said. I turned and hugged Jaime.

"Go on in before you get double detention," I said.

"We can send in a note to let you off too," Nightwing said.

"Oh, well… thanks, _ese._ Be safe, Blue," he said, then went inside.

"Can you get into uniform?" Nightwing asked.

"Uh… hang on. I haven't used this stuff in a couple of months," I said, but closed my eyes all the same. Since the Scarab was already practically ready to attack, the armor spread over me like a wildfire, which is basically what it felt like. I groaned as a weight was added to my back and my skin became much stiffer than normal, making it difficult to move. Not only did I feel that, but I also felt the Scarab trying to form a weapon, so I grabbed my arm to keep anything from forming.

"You okay, Abigail?" Wonder Girl asked as I gasped in pain.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry, like I said, it's been a while. How're we getting to Gotham?"

"We have a ride. Can you fly?" Nightwing asked.

"Yeah. Should we get going?"

"Yep, come on." I followed the two of them across the street in my heavy, loud armor. We reached a building, which Nightwing immediately began to scale, as if he were a monkey or something.

"How're you going to get up?" I asked Wonder Girl.

"Simple," she replied and suddenly, she was floating two feet off the ground. "Come on."

"Okay…" I concentrated on the wings I had used months ago and they unfurled, lifting me off the ground. With surprising ease, I followed Wonder Girl to the top of the building.

"Whoa." A giant red motorcycle of some sort was sitting in the center of the roof, the tires glowing bright blue. It roared and beeped when I landed and it seemed to roll back on it's own, away from me.

"This is the Super-Cycle, transportation for those of us that can't fly or don't want to fly," Nightwing said, petting the machine's side, trying to calm it.

"It seems as if it's alive," I commented.

"She is alive," Wonder Girl said, landing in the seat in front of Nightwing. "Now come on, get in."

When I took another step towards the Super-Cycle and she rumbled again.

"Uh… I can fly, I'm good. She doesn't seem to like me," I said apologetically.

"Okay, I forgot, she's a little nervous around strangers," Nightwing said. "Let's get going."

And we took off into the air.

 **So sorry it took so long. I've been super busy with other stories on other sites, so yeah…**

 **If you left a review, that would be absolutely awesome.**

 **Translations (In Order):**

 _Friend, be kind. They're trying to help, do not be so rude._

 _Why do you defend them? We do not know them!_

 _So? Obviously they know what they are doing, so why not trust them?_

 _Whatever! Do not say I did not warn you later!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - First Fight**

"Uh, _ese,_ not to challenge your authority, but I thought we were heading to Metropolis. So why are we heading towards Taos?" I asked, flying alongside the Super-Cycle as we passed over miles of traffic below.

"Because with this Team, and also with the League, the shortest route isn't always a straight line," he said. I looked at Wonder Girl for clarification, but she shrugged and grinned.

"He was trained by Batman, so he's pretty cryptic sometimes, but what he means is that we got teleporters," she explained.

"Oh, cool."

Soon, the traffic dispersed into the city, but we kept flying until we reached a large facility composed of large white buildings. In front of the building was a large sign that read, 'S.T.A.R. Labs'.

 _Warning, Abigail Wilson. That facility contains people who would want to study this Scarab and test it. Caution is strongly advised._

I shook my head and thought to myself, 'No… Nightwing trusts these people. If he can trust them, I can trust them.'

 _But you cannot trust the Nightwing._

I continued to ignore the Scarab and we entered the facility through a large hatch in the roof. A scientist greeted us and Nightwing explained the situation. He understood and took me to a strange scanner that scanned my body measurements. He left with the information after leading us to a large cylindrical tube thing. As we waited, I began to realize that this was a bad idea. My parents didn't know that I had this… stuff and if I didn't come home tonight, they'd become very worried and scared. I told this awkwardly to Nightwing and he replied, "They won't be. We informed them of your situation."

"... what?!" I asked.

 _I told you not to trust the Nightwing, Abigail Wilson._

"You're still a minor and as such, the League contacted your family before we came and picked you up. They agreed that if you needed to learn how to use your powers, you should learn it from people with experience," he said simply. I took a deep breath, soaking in the fact that my parents probably now knew why I was constantly covering my walls in stuff to hide marks made accidentally by the weapons that I could form. Before I could say anything else, the scientist returned and said, "Kid's been scanned. You're good to go."

"Thanks. Super-Cycle, Sphere-Mode, please."

The Super-Cycle suddenly rumbled violently. I stepped back in surprise, thinking that it was reacting to my presence again, but I was wrong. The parts started folding inwards and the when the red parts started to turn over, the other side was revealed to be a dull but very shiny silver. The Sphere roared and beeped, just like the Super-Cycle had.

"Beetle, meet Sphere," Wonder Girl said, smirking at my astounded face.

"That was cool. Can she do it again?" I asked, marveling at the fact that something the size of a small speed boat could become something the size of a large beach ball.

"Some other time," Nightwing chuckled. I reached out to pet Sphere, but she rumbled at the same time that the Scarab said, _Warning, Abigail Wilson. The technology used to make the 'Super-Cycle' is not compatible with our armor._

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Means that we need to go," Nightwing explained, clearly thinking that I was talking to him. He walked into the tube with Cassie.

"Uh, if we're heading towards a crisis, shouldn't we take a plane or something?" I asked, cautiously following them into the tube.

"Crises, multiple all over America and to the moon at the moment," he said, "and this is much better than any plane."

An automated voice spoke out suddenly, saying, _"Recognized: Nightwing-B-0-1, Wondergirl-B-2-1, Sphere-C-0-1, Blue-Beetle-A-1-2."_

I felt tingles all over my body and a golden glow filled my vision, blocking everything from view. This strange sensation continued for no less than ten seconds, then stopped. I blinked the spots out of my eyes and saw that we were now outside in an environment completely different than that of Taos. The sky was murky with pollution and the buildings were more business like than Pueblo. In the center of it all was a large white building with a giant 'W' imprinted on the side.

"That's Gotham," I said, stepping out of the tube and looking around. "How- what-"

 _You have been teleported._

"Welcome to a life of working with the League," Wonder Girl said. "We have teleporters. Come on."

Sphere rumbled again and unfolded, becoming the Super-Cycle again. She clambered in and once Nightwing was at the handles, we took off into the air.

"So, uh, _ese,_ I know you explained this entire thing, but why didn't we just head straight to Metropolis?" I asked as we exited Gotham and started flying over a large expanse of water.

"Because of that," Nightwing said and pointed to Metropolis, which lay before us, surrounded in a large blue dome. What seemed to be a purple and green alien spaceship was hovering just above the field.

"Oh," I said, completely lost for words. We flew down to the ground, where a woman I recognized as Zatanna from the recent League induction was holding her hands up to the field. Purple waves emanated from her hands as she said, _"Etaerc a cipocsorcim eloh ni siht ecrof dleif rof Mota!"_

 _Do not apporach the Zatanna, Abigail Wilson. The amount of magical energy she has is dangerous to our armor._

"Any luck, Zee?" So if I was doing this, I really would be working with the League… huh, this offer was actually sounding really appealing.

I landed next to Cassie and as Zatanna said, "No," I looked through the shield. There were a ton of civilians near the field and two heroes, only one of which I fully recognized. Black Lightning, another new member of the League, and a girl who wore a costume suspiciously similar to Batman's.

"Where is Manhunter?" I heard Nightwing ask. Wait, Martian Manhunter's here?!

"My attempts to density shift through the field have failed." I jumped a foot in the air as the Martian Manhunter himself phased out of the ground beside me. Oh my… it's actually him. It's the actual Martian Manhunter. Zatanna… Martian Manhunter… Black Lightning… I wonder if there would be any other Leauge members coming. As if to answer my question, a red blur instantly announced the arrival of Central City's Scarlet Speedster, the Flash. Okay then… this is very cool.

"It's not letting me vibrate through, either," he said.

Something appeared on Flash's shoulder and after a second of staring at it, I realized that it was the Atom.

"The field is reinforced down to subatomic level," he said. The ground rumbled and I turned to see a large, multicolored drill coming out of the ground. It warped in shape until it became a very lanky man wearing a pair of ridiculously large goggles and a very small suit.

"Gang, this thing isn't a dome. It's a sphere going all the way down and around!" Plastic Man said.

 _All of the heroes here have powers that the shield's abilities counteract. No one can enter and no one can leave._

I turned to Cassie.

"Okay… I know this is a crisis and all, but-"

"Coolest day of your life?"

"Definitely," I said.

"Well, don't worry. It gets cooler… hopefully," Cassie said.

"What could make this cooler?" I asked.

"I dunno, maybe going into the spaceship up there?" she said, pointing at the purple and green ship above us. On cue, the ship hummed loudly and a green beam shot out of the bottom and hit the sphere surrounding the city.

"What is that?" I asked Cassie.

"Not sure. It's definitely doing something, it's not just a random beam that's going to sit there for who knows how long," she said.

 _You should not trust the Wonder Girl, Abigail Wilson. She makes excuses and is far to enthusiastic for this type of situation, and as are you._

"Then what is it?" I asked.

"Maybe it's going to take away the field."

"We're going to find out," Nightwing said, approaching us. "You two, the Super-Cycle, Zatanna and I are going up there to find out what this alien's intentions are."

"Oh… so we're going to go talk with… aliens?" Wonder Girl asked excitedly.

"Yep. Come on. Beetle, you need to ride in the Super-Cycle. Zatanna is going to be casting a glamour charm and needs on large mass to do it rather than one large and one small," he said.

"Got it." We followed him away from the .

"Hi, you must be the new Blue Beetle," she said and held out her hand.

"Maybe, I'm still thinking about it," I said and shook.

"I think you should take it up," she said. "It'd be worth it, but we can talk about that later, we have a job to do for now."

So we followed her and Nightwing into the Super-Cycle. We were waiting for something, but I didn't know what until both Nightwing and Zatanna held their hands up to their ears.

"That's the signal," he said and Zatanna held up her hands.

" _Etaerc a ruomalg dna elffab lla dnuos gnitaname morf nihtiw,"_ Zatanna said and instantly, the Super-Cycle lifted off of the ground and a purple bubble surrounded us. The Super-Cycle rumbled and we flew high, high above the force field, past Flash and Martian Manhunter.

"Weirdest… day… ever…" I whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Aliens**

 **Yeah… I don't own Young Justice or DC but we at least get a season 3…**

"So… is this a normal thing?" I asked. We had been flying for a solid thirty minutes, waiting for the three other Leaguers' to tell us to go in while they distracted the alien. Although Nightwing hadn't indicated that this had happened yet, he had made sure that the mind link was active as often as possible. He informed Zatanna every five minutes or so in order for her to enforce the purple bubble around us, rendering Wonder Girl and I useless at the moment.

"Pretty much. Alien invasions happen every year or so," Wonder Girl said. "The missions on the Team are usually much easier, rounding up escaped convicts and such. No defeating alien war ships or saving an entire city."

 _Which is why you should not join this 'Team'. It would put your life in considerable danger._

"You care about my life?" I asked.

"Course! Hero, villain or civilian, our job is to protect lives!" she said and I could tell that she had been slightly offended by that.

 _Without you as a host, this Scarab would become inactive permanently due to lack of energy and you would also die because I am bonded to your spine and without the metal, your spine would fracture completely._

"Okay, I understand, I'm sorry," I said.

"We're approaching the alien ship," Zatanna said and recast the spell from before just in case. With or without the spell, I was trying to be as quiet as possible for two reasons. One: I wasn't entirely sure it would work, especially with the Scarab screaming in my head about how the technology on the ship and the tech it was made of weren't 'compatible' with the magic. And two: being around a member of the Justice League, Nightwing and Wonder Girl, and the very concept of working with the League to save members of the League and Metropolis… all of that was pretty intimidating.

We began to near the opening in the bottom of the ship and when I looked up, I saw what was presumably the alien. A large humanoid-robot with green skin and purple armor that matched the ship's entire build.

 _You must destroy them. They are a threat and they will lead you to your doom._

"No… they won't…" I said.

"What's that, Blue?" Wonder Girl asked.

"I'm… just reassuring myself that we… we won't fail," I lied quickly.

She nodded. "We won't, trust me. Good will always triumph over evil."

I smiled. "Thanks… geez, is it always this stressful?"

"Yup. Like I said, an alien invasion once a year or so, but normal missions aren't as bad," Soon, we had reached a large hallway, but unfortunately it wasn't big enough for the Super-Cycle so she was forced to fold and we proceeded on-foot. About twenty minutes after making our way through the ship, Nightwing stopped and visibly relaxed.

"J'onn's back online," he said then turned his attention back to the mind link. In the silence, I tried to think of something to say and blurted, "I saw your induction the other day… Congrats."

"Thanks," Zatanna said, "but y'know, I started on the Team about five years ago. Nightwing was still Robin by then."

"W-Wait. Nightwing… was Robin? But then who's the Robin swinging around Gotham?" I asked, my mind working hard to wrap around this.

"Classified, but if you join, you can meet him."

"Two… there are two…" I said.

"You just blew her mind, Z," Wonder Girl said, laughing.

"No, I'm fine. Just… questions, you know?" I said. "I mean, before the induction, the name 'Zatanna' was completely unheard of."

"Yeah. A good amount of the Team stays under the radar, out of the public eye. Better for the 'covert' part of the job. Obviously Robin is an exception, but the rest of us leave the limelight to the League."

"Okay. Uh, I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one who's noticed that your name is pretty close to Zatarra's, what's up with that. What happened to him anyway?"

"He's my father… he retired around the same time I joined the Team."

I could tell that my question bothered her a lot so I shut my mouth.

 _Your actions have triggered a strong emotional reaction in her._

"Hey, guys, get up here. I'm pretty sure I found something," Nightwing said. We followed him down a turn off and into a round room full of floating and stacked diorama-things. I approached one and saw what appeared to be a ton of coral in a glowing glass orb.

"Wait… so this guy… collects dioramas?" I asked, examining the orb.

"No, they're not dioramas… I think they're cities from other words- HOLY- I just figured out what the alien is doing to Metropolis!"

"What?" Wonder Girl asked, but I had lost track of the conversation. Inside the coral sphere, I noticed multiple mermaid-type-people swimming through the water. But they were tiny, the size of my nail.

"He's going to collect Metropolis…" Nightwing said. "Come on, we need to find this alien. Try to negotiate."

As we left the room, he said, "We'll try to get those other cities back after Metropolis is saved…"

Suddenly, the purple shell around us started to fade.

 _The magical energy is depleting._

"My glamour! Something's draining all the energy! By the time I recast it'll be-"

" _To late."_

 _Surge in ozone levels in-_ Suddenly, a blast of lightning struck us all in the chest. I cried out in pain and doubled over, the lightning coursing through my body.

 _This Scarab can neutralize this attack._

"W-What're you waiting… waiting for?!" I groaned. Like the time at the bank, my hand tingled but instead of becoming a sword, it became a strange cannon type thing. No time to examine it. I held it towards the alien and a blast of blue sonic energy. Another blast of sonic energy joined mine, this time purple. I looked beside me and saw Sphere blasting the purple energy out of her exoskeleton.

"How can I see it?" I muttered.

 _The armor allows you to see the wavelength of the blast._

The electricity stopped and the alien said, _"New-Genesis technology on this primitive world? Working alongside technology of their enemy,"_ he looked at me while saying this. _"How ironic, but it alters nothing. This city will be collected and be freed of contamination."_

Zatanna, Nightwing and Wonder Girl got up, ready to fight.

"I don't think so," Nightwing said and ran in to fight.

 _Fighting will be near useless. This alien's power is far more advanced than this Scarab's._

"Still worth a shot." I activated the wings and Sphere unfurled. We shot into the air and started to blast the alien with our weapons. But he countered every move, despite the fact that there were five of us, all hitting him with all we could. A shield for Super-Cycle, blasters for the rest of us. I got grazed quite often, but thankfully never got directly hit.

 _You must not join this 'Team'. They are untrustworthy and you do not need to be trained._

"You're completely wrong on that point, _hermano_. I do need training and who says they're not trustworthy?"

 _Their bio-scans._

Suddenly, a golden light filled the room and when I had blinked my vision back into existence, a dozen or so people had joined us, including a large red ship. At the same time, the Flash came running into the room, the Atom holding tight to his shoulder. Some of the people that had been teleported I remembered being big time villains and the rest were probably heroes. The two that I didn't recognize looked about Nightwing's age and I didn't recognize them, so I presumed that they were probably on the Team. The remaining three people I recognized as Wonder Woman, Captain Atom, and Superman… the Superman… Whoa.

Nightwing yelled, "Alien robot! Stealing Metropolis!"

A laser shot out of the ship and hit the alien, blowing it to smithereens. One of the people, who looked like a mini-Superman wearing a long black t-shirt with the iconic 'S', stepped forward and picked up the alien's head.

"What was this?" he asked, holding it up to his eye level.

"He boasted about being called 'Braniac of Izod' or something weird like that," Flash said.

" _I am known as the Collector of Worlds to people of your primitive status. But you… scans show that you are Kryptonian?"_ A beam of green light shot out of his eyes and hit mini full in the face. _"Correction. Further scans reveal new information. You are merely a clone."_

Mini stumbled back, his face scorched and steaming.

" _You are clone with corrupted Kryptonian DNA."_

Superman approached mini, his eyes glowing red.

"Kon-El is as every bit Kryptonian as I am! And I should know…" his heat vision activated and destroyed the head completely. "I am Kal-El of Krypton."

The ship landed and the back opened up with a strange squelching noise. A guy with green skin and gills stepped out saying, "Did we win?"

There was a hiss and at least fifteen exact copies of the alien who had just been destroyed rose on platforms, all saying in precise unison, _"Flattering yourself is doing you no good, Earthling. Did you truly believe that a twelfth-level intelligence would be contained by only a single Coludroid Unit?"_

 _Activate the plasma cannon! Destroy every unit and the criminals!_

I didn't answer. The thought of using a weapon that I had no idea existed was scary, but from how the Scarab said it, it sounded extremely powerful and dangerous.

" _Scans indicate you are a true Kryptonian, if that is possible-"_

One of the teleported people (I think she was one of the Tuppence Twins) interrupted and said, "Mind lettin' us in on what the heck is going on?"

" _Below, something is tampering with the device I planted that is generating my force field generator probe. If that is shut down as it is activated, your entire world will be doomed."_

"Why don't you just disengage the beam, then?" Flash asked.

"Your beam is preventing us from entering the city and getting our people out!" Nightwing said. The multiple aliens looked at us, their eyes blank. Then their eyes dimmed and a voice sounded throughout the entire ship.

" _I am the Collector of Worlds. Not the destroyer. The beam has been disengaged, but the city has been shrunk. In order to return it to the original size, you must reactivate the device within the city."_

About half an hour later, we were back on the ground, the city regrown, and the League reunited. Wonder Girl and I stood to the back, our arms crossed but our faces glowing. We had just helped save the League and the entire city of Metropolis from two alien threats. Although one thing did bug me. According to Braniac, he collected major cities from completely doomed planets. So why did he come to Earth? And what did he mean when he said that the technology of the Scarab was of the enemy of the creators of Sphere? Did Ted Kord offend them somehow if he ever went to space?

"Well?" Wonder Girl asked.

"What?"

"How was this experience?"

"Extremely strange. Extremely scary, and extremely exciting."

"So you're joining?"

"One-hundred percent."

 _No, you are not._

"Yes, I am!"

 _We will debate later._

"No! No debate whatsoever! It's not up for debate."

 _Everything always is._

"No, it's not!"

"So, just to clarify, you're in?"

"Yes. I. Am," I said, not to her, but to the Scarab.

"That's great to hear, Beetle."

Wonder Girl and I both jumped as Nightwing appeared next to us.

"Training starts on Saturday. You'll be working on procedures. Once that's passed, your hand-eye-coordination, then fighting techniques, and then we'll get Robin to help you with those swords of yours. You should be about half-way through all that within a month or so, depending on how good you do. Black Canary is in charge of training."

"Cool," I said, half-lying. "Can't wait."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - Kroleteans**

 **I don't own Young Justice or DC but those who do are awesome**

 _~One Month Later~_

The sewers of Gotham stank like nobody's business… which it probably was. And of course, this mission was having us track down a brown, malleable clay in a sewer that belonged to Gotham, one of the busiest, nastiest cities in the world.

 _We have patrolled this entire section of the sewers three times, Abigail Wilson. You do not need to patrol it once more._

"Yeah, I actually do," I said, my voice echoing slightly through the sewers. Suddenly, another sound joined my voice. A yell, ironically gravelly.

 _Delta squad, the target is in sight. Converge on our signal._ Miss Martian spoke in my mind, surprising me so much, I nearly fell into the water.

"Oh, okay…"

 _Coordinates received,_ the Scarab said and instantly, the entire sewer became visible. I saw the heat signatures of Miss Martian and Superboy fighting a cold signature that I had to assume was Clayface.

"Here we go…" I flew towards the signatures and as I did, I heard electricity then a gurgling. Hopefully that meant that the plan had worked. I turned a corner and instantly saw a statue of Clayface, which was actually him turned to concrete. I heard Beast Boy complaining, "There wasn't anything souvenir for the trophy room!"

Then his smell hit me.

"Oh, _hermano,_ I think that smell is a souvenir-worthy," I said, stopping in mid-air and waving the air in front of my nose. Bumble Bee flew past me and as she circled Clayface, his eyes shifted to follow her. She landed and grew to her normal sized as a clay-covered-Superboy clambered out of the murky water. Miss Martian landed next to him and pulled down her hood.

"Delta Squad to Cave: target neutralized," she said. Through the Radio, Nightwing's voice sounded.

" _Good work. Come home. Nightwing, out."_ Half an hour later, Clayface had been delivered to Arkham (which I stayed far away from… I could hear the Joker's psychotic laugh even though I was twenty feet above the complex).

Soon, we were heading to the nearest Zeta Tube, which thankfully was one that took all six of us in one trip. The golden light surrounded us and after it faded, we were greeted with the usual sight of La'gann being bested at another fight by Nightwing. I ignored this and started towards the showers. As I went, I saw Mal trying as usual to get Karen to take a break and go out with him and it looked like he got rejected again.

La'gann and M'gann were kissing again. I rolled my eyes but stopped next to Beast Boy as Superboy came stomping past.

"I need a shower," he said.

"That is the best plan of all time," I said, pulling off the armor then looking at Garfield, who was covered from head-to-toe in sewer muck. "Well, for you, _hermano._ "

I got to the showers and after getting as much smell off of me as I could, grabbed my school backpack from my room and headed out.

"'Night, Blue!" Mal said as I left. I waved and once inputting El Paso's number, I stepped into the tube and teleported away. Once outside, I armored up again and flew over the city, heading towards Jaime's house while still looking for any crime.

 _You were underused today._

"I know, but it was for the good of the mission."

 _You would have been able to destroy the Clayface in less time than it took for them to capture him._

"How many times do I have to tell you, I am not killing, destroying, eliminating, decimating, or anything of the sorts. So stop suggesting it."

 _Any of those would prove to be much more efficient tactics than what you already do._

"Whatever. Not doing it." Thankfully, nothing came up and I got a clear line straight to his home. I knocked on his window and he came rushing to it.

"Abigail! Come in, quick! My parents are home!" I slipped inside and armored down.

"So what'd you do today? And why do you smell?" he asked instantly, holding his nose.

"Sewers… and _hermano,_ you know I can't tell you anything about what I do. I tell you this every single time I come over. I just came to do my homework… from the past week…"

"You really need to convince Nightwing to give you some vacation days."

"Crime doesn't take vacations."

"You have no idea how stupid that sounds. Alright, what do you have to do?"

"English and math."

"You can do the math by yourself. You got that armor. If it can tell what type of stuff is in the air, it can do simple fractions."

"Yeah, no. I am doing this by myself so I actually do good in school without the Bug's help," I said, jabbing a finger at my back.

"Alright, alright. Let's get working." But I never got halfway through my homework. One moment I was working on my fractions, the next, I was fast asleep.

"Ab. Ab!" I grunted awake and nearly punched Jaime in the face.

"Oh… sorry," I said, rubbing my face. "How long this time?"

"Ten minutes. You better get going, my parents are going to come up to tell me it's time for dinner soon."

"Alright. See you tomorrow," I said, packing up my stuff and heading to the window. I stood in front of the window and after the armor had encased me, I flew off. 

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked.

 _The 'homework' is not tactically helpful and your body needs the rest._

"It is if I ever want to go to college if I ever lose you."

 _Which you cannot. I am-_

"Bonded to you because you keep my spine from falling apart, I know. I know. You say that every time I want to get rid of you." I reached my house and slipped through my window. After changing into my pajamas, I slipped into bed and finally got some decent sleep.

 _Three Days Later_

"Abigail!" I jerked awake and kneed my desk painfully. It took all my willpower not to let the armor encase me and not to punch out instinctively.

"Sorry, Mr. Mello," I said, readjusting myself in my chair. He nodded and continued teaching German. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. Another late night of work, watching Godfrey's critical news over and over again on Nightwing's insistence and homework… not to mention looking for an actual job, one that'll give me money.

Something brushed my neck and I reached back to feel a piece of paper. I rolled my eyes, knowing it was probably from either one of the boys in my class or one of the plastics.

 _DNA scans of the paper show that it is from one of the females of this class._

I sighed and opened the note.

' _After class, bathroom. You're going to get rid of that bag.'_

I rolled my eyes, crumbled it into a ball and tossed it to the side.

 _The scans from her indicate hostile intent. Destroy her!_

I rolled my eyes and tried to focus on the lesson, but the Scarab was translating everything, making it very difficult to actually learn. Finally, the bell rung and as I headed towards the doors, I heard a yell.

"Schizo!" I continued walking.

"Schizo, I'm talking to you!" I continued to walk, ignoring her and the Scarab. Answering to either would end up with her possibly fatally hurt by my hands.

"SCHIZO!" I felt a hand on my shoulder and as usual, jerked my shoulder out of her grasp.

"Leave me alone, Tara."

"Schizo, I said that you and I would meet in the bathroom. You've walked by them, so now we're doing it out here."

"Tara, my name is Abigail and I won't go with you unless you actually respect the fact that I'm a human with a name."

"You're a freak with voices in your head!" I turned and faced Tara in the face, right into her electric blue eyes. Her blonde hair was curled as usual, making her look like even more of an idiot.

"Says who?"

"Says you! You're always talking to yourself!"

"So?"

"That makes you a freak!" She grabbed at my t-shirt and I dodged her grab.

"Tara, we've done this before," I dodged again, "you can't pull my shirt off of me."

"I can try!" I rolled my eyes. The exact same thing every single time. She would try to pull my shirt off, just to embarrass me and because she wanted to make fun of my baggy clothing, I would dodge, and it ended in one of two ways. One, with her tiring out and leaving. The other with a teacher finding out. I wasn't in the mood to fight and I couldn't at the moment. My radio had just beeped.

I jumped back before running for the doors. I knew she would taunt me about it for a long time, but I didn't care. As soon as I was off-campus, I dropped my bag and took to the skies, answering my radio.

"Blue Beetle to Cave: What's going on?"

" _It's an all-hands-on-deck situation,"_ Mal said. _"Mission briefing in fifteen."_

"On my way." I continued to fly.

 _You should have destroyed the Tara Markov. She poses a threat and will see your escape as weakness._

"Shut up, would you? Call my mom, if you would be so kind."

A few seconds later, my mom's voicemail sounded.

"Hey, not getting back 'till really late tonight. Love you." I continued flying to the Zeta Tube and once back in the Cave, I saw that screens of data and locations. I ran up next to Wonder Girl and whispered, "I thought you told me there was only one alien invasion a year."

"Shut up," she said as Nightwing came into the room.

"Everyone here? Good. The Kroloteans have fourteen known Zeta Transportation Bases on Earth, so the League and the Team will hit all locations simultaneously. Your objective is to destroy the Bases and rescue any humans that may have been captured," he explained. "Mal is OPs manager. Wonder Girl, you and I are Alpha. We're heading for" She high-fived me and I heard Lagoon Boy groan. He was always hoping for Alpha because of the higher amount of risk went into being on that squad.

"Batgirl. You, Wolf and Bumblebee are Beta. Assignment: Vladivostok." Oh great, I was with Lagoon Boy. "Robin, Beetle, Lagoon Boy, you three are Gamma. Prep the Bio-Ship and head for New Orleans." I sighed internally while Lagoon Boy said, "Gamma always gets the soft gigs."

We started towards the hanger. Once reaching the Bio-Ship, Lagoon Boy held out his hand and pressed it against the Bio-Ship. It awoke from rest and grew to it's full size. We stepped inside as the seats grew. I sat and Lagoon Boy took the driver's seat. Soon Rob joined us and we took off.

"Who's running the squad?" I asked.

"Take a guess, Blue," Lagoon Boy said, nodding at Robin.

"You're right, Lagoon Boy, so no funny business," he said sternly. We nodded and went silent as the long flight to New Orleans started. Finally, the lights of Louisiana appeared ahead of us.

"That is beautiful," I said, looking in awe at the lights.

"Atlantis is a much more beautiful sight," Lagoon Boy said. "The coral sparkles in the light and the buildings shine in the ocean light."

"Uh… cool, Lagoon Boy," I said, not wanting to argue. Lagoon Boy had a nasty temper if you pushed him.

"We're approaching the target," Robin said and I looked away from the lights, wishing the Bio-Ship wasn't as fast. Partially because I loved that sight and partially because this was my first big mission…

When I looked down again, all I could see was murky water and a large car dump. In the center of it all, a small tool shed.

"Is that it? That tiny tool shed?" Lagoon Boy asked.

"Well if it is, that means Gamma got the soft gig again and I am perfectly okay with that," I said despite my pounding heart.

 _No, you are not._

"Yes, I am."

 _No, you are not._

"Yes, I am!"

 _No, you are not._

"Yes, I. Am!" I said, practically yelling. I could feel Lagoon Boy and Robin staring at me, but I ignored it. I was used to it by now.

 _Your heartbeat indicates fear and anxiety. Conclusion: you are not 'perfectly okay with this'._

I groaned and covered my face. Having a piece of technology that scanned and read your every movement had its major disadvantages. You never got a moment of privacy or quiet.

"Alright, let's move," Robin said and we stood. The hatch of the Bio-Ship opened and we jumped out. I spread the wings to slow my descent and once landed, Robin pointed at me, then at the tool shed. I formed the sonic cannon and blasted the tool shed, leaving only a few tools, scraps, and a large crater.

Lagoon Boy jumped down and looked around, then kicked over a tool box. Wrenches and screws came clattering out.

"Congrats, Blue. That was a real tool shed," he said. I rolled my eyes and disassembled the cannon as Robin contacted the Cave.

"Gamma to Cave: There's no Zeta Tube here. No secret entrances, no Kroloteans and not a single human," he said.

Mal responded, "Sensors are still picking up Zeta radiation signatures from the area."

Robin pulled a large device out of his belt and said, "Affirmative, but the signal is coming from below the water. Lagoon Boy! You're up!"

Lagoon Boy clambered up the cars then dove into the water from the very top of the pile. Robin and I waited until our radios beeped, signaling that he had found something. We dove in (Robin using a rebreather and me using the armor, which we had learned allowed me to breath underwater and theoretically in space) and swam towards Lagoon Boy, who held aside a patch of seaweed so we could swim into a long cave. At the end was a door that shrunk and grew rhythmically. Even when it grew, it wasn't large enough for even Robin to slip through.

Robin pointed at Lagoon Boy and then at the door. He grinned and the markings all along his arms glowed into existence. His body bulged and grew like a puffer fish until he was the approximate size of an adult elephant. As the door slid closed again, he grabbed the edges and pulled it wide open, holding it with no trouble. We slipped by him and I heard it continue to move as we swam down the tube. The tunnel descended steeply and it took started upwards and soon, the surface came into view.

The view that met us when we surfaced made me want to swim back down and never return. A giant tower constructed of stone, metal, and technology that was obviously not from Earth. Platforms of the same technology surrounded the tower, each glowing with an ugly green light, making the entire cavern the same color. Small, fish-goat like creatures were milling about, screeching and rasping in an alien language. Suddenly, one of the platforms glowed brighter than the rest. The light traveled down the base and into the tower, which glowed brightly and hummed so loudly, I felt the sound resonating through my body.

"Whoa…" I whispered as we crawled behind a large block.

"Gamma to Cave: We've got the motherload. Multiple Zeta platforms, no visible human abductees, and countless Kroloteans," he reported. Loud alarms started to beep, so I took a peek over the block. On the screen was a live image of the three of us, crouching behind the block, and it was being shown to the entire base.

I barely heard Mal say, "Acknowledged. Until backup arrives, lay low."

"That's going to be a problem," I said, pointing at the screen. They gasped and looked at the screen, then turned around. A large mechanism with a camera was hovering above us, broadcasting us into view of the every Krolotean in the entire base. One at the top turned, pointed a nobly finger at us and screeched. Countless numbers of Kroloteans started to clamber down the tower and run towards us. I scowled and turned to Lagoon Boy.

"Soft gig, huh?"

"Blue! Take the six!" Robin yelled, taking out his staff and preparing for a fight.

"On it!" I took into the air and turned around to see even more Kroloteans crawling towards us.

"Oh great…" I whispered and formed the sonic cannon again, shooting at the aliens as soon as I was able to. As I shot, I heard a roar and turned to see Lagoon Boy being swarmed by Koloteans, so I aimed at the ones trying to jump him and the ones running to join. They were sent flying backwards and I just kept shooting, turning to get through the entire line. Suddenly, there was a loud screech and all Kroloteans stopped in their tracks, then turned and ran back towards the tower.

 _The Krolotean Language is translatable._ Without warning, a new, raspier voice resounded through the place, seeming to come from one of the Kroloteans mouths.

" _Get to the teleporters! The Base falls in four doblosh's! The subjects below will be sacrificed in the explosion."_

 _Doblosh: Krolotean word for a time slice equivalent to one Earth Minute._

I swore under my breath and called out, "Rob! We got trouble!"

"What is it Blue?!" he asked as I landed next to him, Lagoon Boy joining us.

"They're blowing the base," I said. "We got less than four minutes."

"How do you know?"

"Dunno, but point is, they're sacrificing the 'subjects'?" I questioned.

"The abductees are the subjects, Blue!" Lagoon Boy said rudely.

 _Three minutes and thirty seconds._

"Whoever they are, we have almost three minutes to find a way down there and get them out!" I said.

"Blue! Clear a path that way!" Robin said, pointing to the side wall, towards an opening in the wall. Kroloteans were crawling out by the dozen, rushing to the Zeta Platforms.

"On it!" I lept over the side of the walkway and let the wings spread. Holding out my arms in front of me, the armor spread together to create a battering ram of some sort, something that I had never seen before but I ran with it, knowing that I didn't have time to question my own abilities. Soon, a large path had been made and I flew right down the tunnel, still letting the battering ram take down as many Kroloteans as possible. At the bottom, only a single Krolotean remained and it was sent flying back to where it came from. Robin came flying next to me and said, "Grab 'im!"

The armor retracted back into my arms, leaving my hands as hands again. I used them to grab the alien around the neck.

"Hello? Is someone there?" We looked up and saw a large cage, like a bear cage, holding less than a dozen people. I recognized one as the missing Secretary General Tseng and another as the daughter of Ruuman Harjavti, Noor Harjavti.

"Lagoon Boy, get that cage open!" Robin commanded. He nodded and ran forward, growing as he did. Screams followed as he forcefully pulled the two sides apart. As we followed, Robin told me, "Can you ask him how to get out here?"

"You really think I can speak-"

 _I can allow you to speak the Krolotean language._

"Are you waiting for an invitation then?" I asked. Instantly, I felt my vocal cords shift and grind and then I said, "Tell my how to get out of here the quickest way possible, or you're staying here," but instead of english coming out, a raspy screech followed.

He responded in perfect English, "There is a hole in the tube you came through leading to the entrance!"

I turned to Robin and said, "This way-" before realizing that I was still speaking Krolotean and repeated myself, "This way! Hurry!" We all ran to the Tube, through the hole that the Krolotean had described and into a pool of water. We swam as quickly as possible and as the surface neared, it was lit up with orange fire, meaning that we had just barely missed the explosion. I could feel the heat even from underwater. When we broke the surface, I turned to see that the car dump had been turned into a giant inferno.

"Where's La'gann?!" Robin said from behind me. I turned frantically. I didn't care much for him, but if we had lost a member… that wouldn't be good at all. Suddenly, a few feet away from me, he broke the surface of the water, yelling, "Alpha Squad, you can go suck it!"

I sighed in relief but tensed up as the Scarab pronounced, _Powerful signatures approaching!_

I looked up and my eyes widened.

"Rob…" He looked up and his jaw dropped. The entire League was ascending down on us, all stoic faced as usual, making it seem as if they were disappointed in our work. A hot blast of air announced Red Tornado, sending us forward in the water a bit. The Supercycle flew in front of us, carrying Wonder Girl, Nightwing, and Wolf, all with the same faces as the League. We looked at each other, wondering what was running through their heads.

"Way to get your feet wet!" Nightwing suddenly said, a smile spreading across his face. A mission success: fighting aliens, rescuing humans and getting complimented by Nightwing, then spending hours working on the mission report covering all of our mistakes (and there were quite a lot)... quite a story indeed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 -** **Appellaxian**

The yellow energy shield spread over the entire atmosphere, effectively trapping us inside if we wanted to use Zeta Tubes in order to visit other planets and vice-versa. I honestly thought it was very cool, but neither Conner nor the Scarab agreed with my shared opinion with La'gann.

"Aliens could still use Boom Tubes or just regular space crafts to invade," he had said.

"Boom Tube?"

 _Boom Tube: An alternate means of dimensional travel. Not compatible._

"Would you just- I don't understand what you mean!" I said, crossing my arms.

"That's pretty mutual," Mal said, staring at me. I blushed furiously and looked away awkwardly.

"Why did you have to shut off the mental link?" I hissed as quietly as possible.

 _It was a necessary precaution to keep you alert._

"Great…" A strong hand grabbed my shoulder and started to drag me away.

"Tag, you're it."

"Ow! Conner, what-"

"I have business to attend to and you're here," he said. "Armor up."

I nodded and waited for him to release his grip on me before letting the armor encase me (I didn't want to somehow chop his hand off). I hopped into the back seat of the Super-Cycle with Wolf and when we started flying west, it was in complete silence. As we entered Washington, D.C., the Scarab lost its patience and started to nag me about finding out what was actually going on.

 _Ask._

"Shush."

 _Ask._

"Shh."

 _Ask!_

"Fine! If you'll be quiet," I snapped.

"What is it, Blue?" Superboy asked.

"Well, I know I wasn't just… selected to do this just because I was there. But… I'm here, what do I have to do, _ese_?" I asked.

He was silent for a second before he pressed a button on the console. A holographic image of the late Malina Island appeared.

"As you should know, Intergang is an extremely dangerous and active member of the alien-weapons-black-market. After the destruction of Malina island, I began to suspect that they had smuggled the bomb to Earth, supplying it to whoever the Kroloteans were working for before… yeah." The island exploded in a spectacularly horrifying explosion. "The Kroloteans obviously knew nothing about it, so I started keeing tabs on the two of the highest ring leaders of Intergang: Whisper A Daire and Bruno 'Ugly' Mannheim for the past couple weeks. A couple hours ago, they resurfaced and I tracked them down to that truck," he pointed down at a normal white van, "and from the analysis Sphere ran, their destination is the Hall."

"That's not good." We continued to fly and sure enough, the van eventually pulled up next to the Hall. The door slid open and two people of completely different physical traits hopped out. One was thick and stout with a black bowl cut and bushy mustache, the other lean and tall with long ginger hair. Stout was holding a large briefcase, which Superboy instantly asked me to scan.

"On it." My hand shifted into a newer construction and I pointed it at the case. My vision became orange and full of strange symbols that had probably meant something to Ted Kord, but definitely not to me. They ran across the screen, focusing mostly on that symbol before the orange turned to red.

 _Cannot scan case. Not compatible._

"What do you even mean by that?!" I asked angrily.

"Blue, what do you mean? Are you talking to someone?" Superboy asked suddenly. My heart dropped and my fear increased ten-fold. I had to tell him. There was no other way, he had figured out something...

 _Do not tell him! Simply destroy him so you are not required to put your trust in another!_

I struggled with the armor silently as I sighed and said, "I seem like I'm always talking to myself and the Team probably thinks I'm crazy, but I'm not. The Scarab, Kord's greatest and final invention before his death… it talks to me. It advises me, criticizes me. Anything you can think of like that, it does that but with a horrible attitude. When we were talking about the Boom Tubes, it said that they weren't 'compatible' with my armor and now, that briefcase isn't either."

"Well the Hall's 'compatible' with everyone, so scan that for any life forms. Ugly and Whisper might be planning a large scale attack on the hall," he said, completely unfazed by my secret (now that I thought about it, having Lex Luthor as a… DNA donor probably helped him deal with that type of stuff). I nodded, hiding my great relief, and redirected the scanner at the hall. The symbols appeared, rushing around at dizzying speeds before the Scarab pronounced it to be empty.

"Empty," I relayed and returned my attention downwards. Ugly had opened the case and from up here, it was merely an angry red blob.

"What's that?" Sphere rumbled and moved away slightly, just like she had when she first met me.

"Don't know, but I can guess it's Apocalyptican from Sphere's behavior," he said.

"And that means what?"

"It means that our night just went from a causal mission to a serious, alien level one," he said. Another alien to add to the list?! As we flew down, Ugly stood up with the device, which was glowing brighter than ever. Then, out of nowhere, I was hit with a paralyzing wave of pain. I cried out, grabbing at my pounding head as the Scarab repeated what it had been saying over and over again in a strained voice, _Not compatible! Not compatible! No known countermeasures!_

All I could feel was that pain and during the time I felt it, I wondered to myself, over and over again, 'If this is what a superhero has to go through on a daily basis… why bother? This pain… it's going to kill me. I'm going to die because of my tiny tolerance for pain…'

My mind began to slip in and out of unconsciousness when suddenly, the pain faded away and I slumped forward, my entire body burning angrily. All I wanted was to lay there forever, but my ears had stopped ringing and I could hear a fight going on… alright, time to get up.

Groaning, I lifted my head and saw a large monster made of many different materials fighting Superboy and Wolf simultaneously.

"What's that?!" I asked.

 _Appellaxian Golem._

"Don't know, don't care, let's just fight," I said and flew into the air. The sonic cannon formed and I pointed it right at what I assumed to be the head (albeit one made of pure crystal).

"Blue, don't!" Superboy yelled, but it was too late. The sonics had blasted and hit the crystal. Nothing seemed to happen for a second, the crystal faintly glowing light blue, then it exploded outwards with the power of my blast times ten.

"Oh, sh-" The blast hit me, sending me flying to the ground, my ears ringing louder than ever. I hit the ground and unconsciousness started to wrap its tendrils around my head. Looking up, I expected to see the clear winter sky, but it was blocked by a large, stone foot.

"Come on…" The foot came crashing down on me and the darkness consumed me.

"Are your ears okay?" I asked hesitantly.

"YEAH!" he yelled over the not-so-roaring-wind, then realized his mistake. "Yeah, but what were you thinking? Sonics' against the Appellaxian?"

"Okay, that's not fair. I don't even know what an Appellaxian is!" I complained.

"Freshman…" he growled. "Haven't you read the case files? Gone on the Hall Tour?"

"I went on the tour a few years ago but I don't remember anything from that," I said.

He sighed, "The Appellaxian Golem was a creature that attacked Earth years ago, forcing the Justice League to fight it and eventually form. Alien energy entities hosting those four husks within the hall, and the crystal one has the ability to absorb and redirect a sonic attack."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, think and listen before you act next time," he said. "It could be the difference between life and death next time."

"Yes, sir," I said and we sat in silence for a few more minutes.

 _You should have listened to him._

"Why didn't you tell me that would have happened?" I hissed.

 _He had already expressed the consequences and I believed you heard them._

"Well… still, warn me next time."

"We're closing in on them," Superboy said suddenly. The Super-Cycle began to lower into the trees, the little triangle that had been tracking the Apocalyptican signatures coming from that little device. I saw a clearing up ahead that was full of the Golem's massive body and as we got closer the Scarab began to warn me about the Apocalyptican energy radiating from the area. We descended and Ugly's voice started to sound, "-Intergang's control is going to be expanded ten-fold."

"That's a great plan, Ugly. You really think it'll work with the size of your brain?" Superboy asked, making both Whisper and Ugly look up.

"Hilarious, kid. See if you laugh when this thing"

"New Genesphere: Jam Apocalyptican signals in the area," he commanded. The device in Ugly's hands sparked violently, forcing him to throw it away. The Golem shifted and crushed the device with the same foot that had nearly crushed me. It swung a large stone arm, hitting Whisper and Ugly yards away. The arm shot upwards and hit the Super-Cycle, making us jump out.

"What do we got?" I asked the Scarab, catching myself mid-air. 

_Plasma cannon, sonic blaster (ineffective), battering ram-_

"How will the battering ram work?" I asked.

 _Ineffective. Plasma cannon is the most recommended in this situation._

"Not gonna use it so the battering ram will have to do," I said and formed it. Even as the Scarab screamed at me for being so stupid, I flew forward. I hit the Crystal part of the creature and ended up bouncing off of it, not even leaving a dent.

 _I told you multiple times that-_

"It was ineffective, would you just-" I was cut off as the stone foot came crashing down on me again, forcing me instantly back into unconsciousness. Next thing I knew, Superboy was shaking me awake painfully.

"Blue, get up, quick," he said then left me alone to recover as quickly as possible.

 _I have injected you with small amounts of morphine to dull the pain._

I stood and walked over to Superboy, who had Ugly and Whisper pinned to a tree.

"Lock them down, Blue," he told me. I formed two staplers and shot each twice. The staples hit the two of them around the shoulders and whilst Ugly struggled, Whisper simply gave in, relaxing with a sad look on her face.

"Come on, we need to go after it," Superboy said.

 _Keeping them tethered here would be far more effective if you were to pierce their bones._

"No!" I yelped.

"Blue! Fight internally later, externally now," Superboy commanded. I scowled at my back and then rushed into the Super-Cycle. We flew at the Golem, which was unfortunately heading straight towards the nearby Nuclear Power Plant.

"Of course it isn't going to be easy," I muttered.

"Deploy! Don't let it do anymore damage!" Superboy yelled and we leapt out into the air. I allowed myself to fall for a second then spread my wings, formed the battering ram on a much larger scale and hit the Golem's feet with full force. It fell onto its back and both Superboy and Wolf used their weight to try and tether it to the ground.

"Staple it down!"

"Just a sec!" I slammed my arms together and the armor grew bulky around my arms. As soon as the giant stapler was formed, I threw it above my head, then slammed it down three times. One wrapped around the crystal and the other around the arms.

"Pill-Bug Mode!" Superboy yelled and Super-Cycle curled in on herself. When she unfurled, she looked like a giant pill-bug, just like Superboy had commanded. She flew threw the air and almost landed on the creature's head, but it managed to break free and head-butt her away. It got up forcefully, sending Wolf flying in one direction and Superboy straight into me. I hit the ground again and looked up, groaning and annoyed.

"Can't we just ask it if it knows the rules of the game?" I asked, watching it tear at the cement walls of the plant.

 _A tactic such as that would heavily betray weakness._

I thought about this for a second before seeing a small loophole in the Scarab's words.

"So you're saying that it's possible," I said. The clicking in the back of my head seemed like a grumble of annoyance before the Scarab said, _Yes._

"What do we have to do then?!" I asked.

… _Form the sonic blaster and I will adjust the frequency to one that will allow you to communicate with its consciousness._

"Got it," I did and ran towards the creature, my arm becoming weighted down with the extra technology and armor. My heart was pounding with the thought of how much this could potentially hurt.

"Blue! What're you doing?! Sonics don't work!" Superboy warned.

"I know what I'm doing! I thought about it!" I yelled then the Scarab said, _Frequency adjusted._

I took a deep breath and allowed the new frequency of sonic energy to hit the Golem's crystal head. The reaction was instant. Just as the Scarab shouted something about another external attack coming from the Golem, my body exploded in pain, causing me to cry out and fall to my knees. But behind all the pain, there was something else, a voice. It was faint and completely unintelligible, but somehow, I knew that it was the Golem. This pain was what the Golem, who was very much alive, was feeling.

"Blue! Stop before you get killed!" I heard Superboy yell.

"No! It's talking to me! It's sharing… sharing the pain!" I groaned. "Can't you hear it?!"

Suddenly, my world tunneled, the pain faded, and all I could hear was my own heartbeat, louder than anything I'd every heard. Despite this, the Golem's words reverberated within me, still unintelligible but understandable. It's conscious was controlling my body at the moment, speaking to Superboy… it just wanted to end the pain we had both-

The pain came back in full force, forcing me back into my own body. Faintly, I felt myself fall and Superboy catch me. The Golem's presence was gone, leaving an empty hole within me. It had only been there for a minute, but the loss was almost as if I had lost the- it was gone.

My armor encased eyelids cracked open and took in the glowing golden specks floating down upon me.

"It had a mind… a consciousness…" I whispered sadly, holding out a hand to catch one of the specks, "but it's gone…" the speck faded before it even touched my hand. "Who killed it?"

"Dunno… but I want to find out soon," Superboy said. "What happened?"

"I tapped into a certain frequency… that let me communicate with the Golem…" I whispered, getting unsteadily to my feet.

"Let's get you to S.T.A.R., or the Cave, and get you fixed up," he said, taking my arm to help keep me up.

"I'm fine," I said, shaking my head to clear the ringing.

 _You are in need of medical attention, Abigail Wilson._

"I'm fine," I repeated sharply. "I think we should check on Whisper and Ugly though. Make sure they're still there."

"No way they still are. Intergang is huge and they could easily have had people free them while we were here," Superboy said.

"No. Those staples held down the Golem for a few seconds. Humans, even with alien tech, couldn't break through them, or pull them out with the force I shot them, in any amount of time," I insisted.

"Fine," he gave in, "but checking is a huge waste of time."

We started towards the clearing, me being slightly tipsy and needing Superboy's help to walk most of the time. When we finally reached the clearing, in a way, I was correct about the fact that they were still both pinned tight, but they weren't… there. They were only held up by the staples, their bodies limp and near lifeless. Drool was dribbling slowly from their mouths.

"What happened?" I asked, forming the scanner and aiming it at their forms.

"Dunno… whatever it is, we don't want to mess with it. How're they doing?"

"Physically, fine. Mentally… it looks like they've been vegetablized," I said, a thought running through my head.

 _Ask._

"Uh… do you think that M'gann had something to do with this? I mean… if her past victims show anything, she might have had… something to do with this…?" I asked hesitantly. He glared at me but I could see in his eyes that he was having similar suspicions.

"I'll text her, see if she's been at the Cave with La'gann the entire time," he said and pulled out his personal phone. After he sent the text, we stood in the cold wind, the only sound being the creaking branches and police sirens at the plant. I refused to look at the husks, not wanting to imagine what could've done something like this. Whatever could turn two people into vegetable without any traceable source wasn't something I ever wanted to encounter. Considering the fact that whoever, or whatever, did this attacked Intergang leaders then possible destroyed the poor Golem, that meant that they were probably going to be returning.

"She's been there the entire time we were here, so it wasn't her," he said finally. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah. Better than worse but worse than great," I said, leaning against a tree.

"Are you sure?"

"Completely. I should be better in a few hours at least," I said. "Uh, what's happening to Sphere?"

The Super-Cycle had started rumble violently and Conner sighed, "She must've gotten damaged in the explosion. I think she's strong enough to carry Wolf for a drive, but not all three of us even for that, to the nearest Tube." He pat Sphere and I rubbed Wolf's muzzle before he hopped into the back seat. As Sphere left, I realized something.

"Uh… _ese,_ we just lost our ride home," I said, stunned.

"You can carry us," he said.

"I've been in this for two, three months. I can probably carry you for ten minutes, maybe fifteen if I'm lucky," I stumbled a bit as I was hit with another dizzy spell, "but there is no way that I can carry you all the way to Rhode Island."

"I know, we just need the nearest Zeta Tube, which is where Sphere's heading. We can walk until you're mostly healed," he said. I nodded and we began walking.

 _A high adrenaline rush would allow your body to heal at a more rapid pace._

"Do we have anything that might be an adrenaline boost? If I got one, it would speed my heal- AHH!"

He had grabbed my arm and suddenly leapt high, high into the air. I screamed as we continued upwards and at the arch of the ascend, he let go of me and I was suddenly falling uncontrollably. I activated the wings and caught myself and then started a slow, completely controlled descend.

"I… I think th-that works," I said, panting heavily as I touched down. I tried to ignore the many ways that I could destroy Superboy for forcing me into that, but it didn't seem all that genuine. I knew it was thankful I had gotten the adrenaline I needed. He landed surprisingly lightly and grinned.

"Glad. When we get back to the Cave, we'll do a mission report then I'll give you some League files to read up on," Superboy said.

I groaned, "On top of the new Kord files?"

"Yeah. You need to learn about villains who have been around for years and will return. You need to know how to fight them; you need to be prepared. Not judgement, just constructive criticism."

"Forewarned."

"Be glad Batman rarely does the criticism stuff anymore. He used to give the original Team hours of mission reports, mostly on our mistakes, and then lecture us for half-an-hour straight."

"Yikes, but I understand. Gotta use my head as much as my instincts, right?"

"Pretty much. I had to learn that the hard way by using my head for both fighting and for skills," we chuckled. About half-an-hour later, I was strong enough to carry him and I told him this.

"Just grab under my arms. I'm immune to almost everything, including extreme heights, but try not to drop me, okay?" he said and then in response to my awkward demeanor, "Get used to it. We won't always have flying vehicles at hand." I nodded and allowed his arms to settle onto my forearms and grasped his shoulders with my hands.

 _If you allow me to control the armor for 4.5 seconds, I can destroy the Superboy._

I ignored the Scarab and allowed the wings to spread. With surprising ease, we lifted into the air.

 _Transportation would be far more efficient if you were to use the jetpack._

"Whoa- a jet pack? I have a jetpack?!" I asked.

"What?" Superboy asked. I looked down at him and we locked eyes, then he said with a completely straight face, "Blue Beetle, you are hereby ordered to use the jetpack."

I grinned and focused on the word 'jetpack'. The wings slunk away and after a few feet of altitude loss, I felt a change in the Scarab. It was shifting, changing form and density. There was a jerk in my back and suddenly, I was flying much faster than I ever had. Taking a glance back, I saw blue flames of some sort spurting out of the back of the Scarab. I didn't feel any heat, so I guessed it wasn't a burning fuel of any sort.

"Already learning one thing right now," I groaned.

"And what's that?"

"I need to work on my core strength. This is very, very slowly killing me."

He laughed, genuinely laughed. The first I had ever heard. It made me happy to learn that even someone with parents like his could be made to smile even by a stupid human like me.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 - Elements**

"Where are you?" Jaime asked impatiently.

"I'm on my way, hold on," I said. "Patrol was crazy. Had to stop like three get-away cars!"

"Still. You're faster than them!"

"And you're on the ground where there's no extremely strong wind. Now let me hang up so that I can concentrate!" The city flew by below at break-neck speeds, but in my eyes, it was welcome and absolutely beautiful. The lights were dim in the late day, but it was soothing and something that I sorely needed after the past few days.

 _You are in need of rest. The injuries for the previous battle have left you weak and in need of healing. Rest would be the best tactic._

"Or just spending some time with my friend. I could always do that," I said. The forest came into view and I saw a boy my age standing at the edge of the wood, looking up at me. He grinned and waved to me as I landed, allowing the armor to retract into my clothing.

"How're you doing?" I asked, giving him a tight hug.

"Fine, yourself?"

"Sore, but fine."

"What's been going on-"

"I can't tell you."

"Worth a shot."

"It was a worthless one though."

"I know, which is why I tried."

 _The Jaime Reyes's intentions are misplaced._

"Jaime Reyes, you are a confusing person."

"I know."

"Ah, I've missed you!" We hugged again and then started into the forest.

"What have you been up to?" I asked.

"You know, just trying to keep up with school and making sure that I can still tutor you," he said.

"How's Tye?"

"He's… fine. Maurice isn't any better. Every day Tye comes to school with bruises and has a nasty temper."

"Why doesn't his mom call the police? He's obviously abusing the both of them!"

"Without him, they'd run dry in a week," he said sadly. "He's their only source of money. Tye's been trying to find a job, but nothing's come up yet."

"Okay… on a happier note, how's Milagro?"

"She's still a brat," he said. "Last week, we went up to Coast City and she got to meet that other Green Lantern, Guy Gardner. He said she'd make a good Lantern and now all she wears is green."

"I've heard about him. He's apparently a big jerk but a good hero," I said but couldn't help but laugh. "Seriously though? Milagro as a Green Lantern? I mean, I can see it, but that's pretty funny. You'll have two heroines surrounding you every day."

"Shut up," he said but joined in laughing. "Just imagine her in that green, black and white outfit, flying through the galaxy throwing glitter constructs into alien faces."

We had to stop to let all our laughter out. As I stood up, holding my side, I saw something through the trees that made me elbow Jaime in the side. 

" _Hermano,_ check it out," I said. He looked where I was pointing and instantly said, "Race you."

"You know you'll loose."

"Yeah, but it's worth a shot." He took off and the Scarab said, _The Jaime Reyes is disobeying the rules. Use of armor is-_

"Do you ever shut up?" I asked as I sprinted after him. With all the training, I easily caught up with him and passed him even though he got a large head start. He called after me as I entered the clearing and slowed to a stop to look around. It was mostly high grass but there was a small stream running through the side. In the center, there was a small hole in a large circle of dirt full of wood that seemed to have been fire wood at one point. Maybe this was an old camp ground?

"You… you cheated," Jaime panted as he jogged into the clearing.

"No, I just ran faster than you," I replied, laying down in the grass and looking up at the clear blue sky. A light breeze ruffled the grass and leaves of nearby trees, making leaves fall down onto my face. Jaime lay down too and looked up at the sky too.

"You totally cheated," he said.

"No, I just train. Not my fault I got the Scarab, you held us back at the park."

"You wanted to show me your new moves."

"You got us lost."

"Whatever," he said and we went silent again. "Ow!"

"What?"

"A rock just near-punctured my head," he said sitting up and picking up a small stone. It was multicolored, mostly brown but with gleaming blue lines caking the surface. Within those lines were even more colors, orange, gold, white, purple, pink, mixes of the colors.

 _Scans show that the stone is not compatible with the armor. Traces of powerful magic are within the stone._

"What?" Jaime was tossing the stone in his hand when suddenly, it started to glow. "Jaime, stop!"

Too late. The stone hit his hand and an explosion sent me flying backwards. Just before I hit a tree, the armor wrapped around my body. I looked up and almost screamed. Where Jaime had been sitting seconds before was now a vortex of wind and earth. Jaime was at the center, his body floating in the very center. His arm were outspread and his head facing straight towards the sky and his mouth and eyes open wide, as if he was screaming with no noise. I could see something glowing brightly in his chest and took a guess that it was the stone that had caused the explosion.

"Can we get to him?" I asked.

 _Negative. The amount of magic within the vortex would heavily damage the armor._

"Great… wait, what's happening to him?!" Jaime's hair had begun to grow in the center and fall out at the sides, making it look like he had a mowhawk of some sort. His clothes shifted, becoming a green jacket of some sort and his pants becoming pure black and near skin tight. The shoes were whipped away completely, leaving him barefoot until the pants wrapped around his feet, becoming a thick sort of shoe sole. His skin became lighter and in horror I watched as his beautiful chocolate brown eyes became a deep blue and light green.

"What's happening to him?!" I yelled, fear clouding my brain.

 _Unknown._

The whirlwind started to die down and he floated down to the ground and settled down gently. I ran forward and tried to touch him, but even through the armor, I could feel his intense body heat.

 _The body temperature of the Jaime Reyes is currently 200.45 degrees Fahrenheit._

"He should be dead, shouldn't he?" I choked.

 _Affirmative._

"We need to get him to a hospital. Can you-" The Scarab read my thoughts and instantly thickened the armor around my arms, turning it into a sort of pair of oven mitts. I scooped him up and lifted into the air on the wings. Once above the trees, I activated the jetpack and suddenly the Scarab said, _It would be wiser to bring him to the headquarters._

"That's a good idea. Call them."

"What's up, Blue?" Mal answered after a minute of tense silence

"I've got a seriously… injured friend," I said shakily. "It's something magic related o-or something. Am I clear to bring him in for help?"

There was a moment of silence as Mal asked someone before he answered, "Yeah. Enter through the ramp, Superboy will be there to guest-authorize him."

"On my way then," I said and hung up. I looked at the new Jaime and noticed that the stone was now embedded in the spot between his collar bone, right above the sternum. It was gleaming brightly in the almost setting sun and even though my hands were nowhere near it, I could feel the power.

"Did the stone affect his… body in any way other than what we can see?" I asked curiously.

 _Affirmative. It appears that the Jaime Reyes's meta-genes have been activated._

"Meta-gene? What's that?"

 _Unknown. Best estimate: what you would describe as 'powers'._

"He has powers now? What type?"

 _Unknown. Unable to scan the Stone for affects. Not com-_

"Not compatible, okay, okay," I said, "but him as a person, without the thing, won't affect the armor? He's 'compatible'?"

 _Affirmative._

"Okay. Is there anyway we can go faster?!"

 _If you fly higher, there is a wind travelling the same way you are at the moment._

"Jaime won't be able to breathe!"

 _There is a protective field around him, possibly created by the stone. He will survive._

"Okay…" I flew straight upwards and instantly felt myself travelling half as fast as I was a second ago. "How's he doing?"

 _Vitals are stable._

I looked at him and was suddenly struck with a thought. This wasn't Jaime. This was a stranger that had took Jaime from me, replaced him with a person that I didn't know. A person with powers that Jaime would never ask for. This Stone had taken his hair, his face, his eyes, and turned it into the person I was looking at right now, a stranger with no right to be saved.

"If I were to rip that thing out of him, would he survive?" I asked angrily.

 _Negative._

I swore and continued to fly. Within ten minutes, the mountain had come into view and I saw Superboy at the ramp entrance.

"What happened?" he asked as I landed.

"M-My friend found a-a stone thing," I said. "It turned him into this."

"Go inside and tell Nightwing then set up the medical equipment for x-ray and CAT scans. We need to see how this thing has affected his body. Do you have scans of him before-"

"I can pull some up," I said and ran inside, barely hearing the computer call out my designation. After doing what Connor had told me, I waited anxiously for the results to come out.

"His entire skeletal structure has changed," he said finally. "His brain seems to be intact and the exact same, but as I said."

"What now? Wait for him to wake up?"

"You said the some magic in the stone?"

"Yeah, at least that's what the Scarab said."

"Then I think we need to get some professional help."

"Fate?"

"No, he'd be no help whatsoever," he said and I thought I saw him shudder at the thought.

"Oh yeah… oh, now I know who you're talking about." As we turned to leave, I heard a groan and my heart dropped. "Not now… please, not now…"

I turned around and ran to Jaime's side as his eyes fluttered open, revealing those green-and-blue irises. His eyes lingered around above him for a moment before settling on my face.

"A-Ab? What's going on?" he croaked.

"How does-"

"He was there when I got my powers," I said.

"Who's that?" Jaime asked, trying to sit up.

"A friend. No, don't try to sit up," I said, forcing him back down slowly. He groaned at the slight weight added to his chest by my hand.

"Ow… ow…" he reached for his collar bone, right where the stone lay.

"Jaime, don't-" Too late. His hand brushed the stone and his eyes widened in fear.

"Ab… what is this?! What happened?!" he yelled, his hands scrambling at his chest frantically.

"Hold him down!" Superboy yelled and ran forward, but out of nowhere, a gust of wind caught him around the middle, sending him back into one of the larger pieces of equipment. 

"Jaime!" I ducked as a fireball came flying out of nowhere and melted a hole through the lighting.

 _You must knock the Jaime Reyes into unconsciousness._

"I know! I know!" I yelled and dove at Jaime. He was in an almost seizure type state, his limbs flailing around his chest, the stone glowing brightly.

"Jaime! Calm down!" I yelled.

"What happened to me, Abigail?!" he yelled, looking at me with those new eyes, now full of tears. As I looked, I saw that deep beneath the new identity, there was Jaime. The same Jaime that I had met in elementary school and befriended instantly. My friend, but… this situation might just break that.

 _Knock him unconscious. Recommended tactic-_

"I have a way that doesn't include any possible brain damage, okay?!" I said and ran to Jaime. "It's the only way, isn't it? Jaime, I'm sorry." I unarmored before slapping my hand across his face. He gasped in shock and his hands went from his chest to his cheek, which was red and slightly swollen. He looked at me and we both started to cry. We hugged and sobbed into each others shoulders. Superboy walked up to use and said, "I feel like we have a lot to do."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 -**

 _ **Two Weeks Later**_

 _ **Abigail**_

Even after a mere minute in the air, Jaime's face was beaded with sweat from the effort of controlling the air beneath him. I watched, worried that he might lose control and fall a solid ten feet with nothing to catch him.

 _With the amount of training the Jaime Reyes has had currently, the chances of him failing are low._

"That's good, Jaime," Canary said. "Come on down."

He lowered to about two feet then dropped sharply, landing with a thud. He winced and rolled his ankles. The black fabric didn't crinkle but allowed him a full roll (which completely intruigued Robin when he first saw the black fabric)

"Yes, we're going to work on landings later," she said with a smile. "Can you do me one last favor and create a ball of fire?"

He took a deep breath and held out a fist. After a second, he opened it and in it was a ball of flickering flame about the size of an orange.

"Okay, try making enlarging it." The fire swelled slightly then unexpectedly went out of control, spurting whips of flames everywhere and growing rapidly from a basketball to a beach ball. As Jaime grasped at his wrist, trying to control his abilities. I ran forward, armoring up everything but my hand and grabbing his shoulder. At my touch, he began to relax and soon, the fire dimmed and within a minute, was out completely. He turned and we hugged, him breathing heavily into my shoulder.

"It's alright, Jaime," Canary said. "No one's been hurt anytime you've done that, and that's good. It means you're learning control and soon, you'll fully have it. Go ahead and take a break."

He nodded and let go of me, taking a step back. His eyes closed and a small whirlwind of fire, earth, water and air swirled around him for barely a second before it settled and the normal Jaime was standing there, looking as tired as his other form.

"Beetle, can I talk to you?" Canary asked as he went for some water. I nodded and followed her to the side.

"How long have you known Jaime?" she asked. I held up ten fingers.

"Uh…" I pointed to my throat then mimed coughing and shook my head while touching my forehead.

 _If you were to allow me to use armors built-in medications and control the armor, you could speak. The prescription medicine you were given is ineffective and will take two times as long using the armor._

"Ah," she said, understanding. "Well, Nightwing and I talked and we'd like Jaime on the Team."

My eyes widened. Jaime on the Team? After two weeks of learning control?

"I know he's still learning control, but it's hard not having anyone of similar power sets to train him," she said, seeming to read my mind. "Since you know him so well, we thought it'd be better for you to talk to his parents first, since he's a minor. If they give the green light, talk to him, but let them adjust to his condition before doing so. I bet it's a lot to take in."

I nodded and returned to Jaime.

"What'd she want?"

I put my thumb and index finger together.

"Just a little? Can I know?" I shook my head. "How long 'till you got your voice back?"

I shrugged and held up a one and two then shook my hand.

"Can't the armor-" I started to shake my head in protest and then pointed at him, shook my hand, then slid a hand across my neck.

 _I will only terminate the Jaime Reyes if he provokes the attack._

"Oh… so you just want to heal naturally?" he said, understanding my true meaning.

I nodded.

"How're you going to explain that in gestures?" I shrugged. "What if you have a mission?"

I swiped my hands in front of me.

"None? The bad guys decide to take a break for today?" He took a gulp of water as I laughed then started to hack.

"Here," he gave me another water, which I drank gratefully. My throat stopped burning and I sighed in relief.

"Thanks," I croaked then started to cough again.

"Don't talk, just relax. Got quite an infection," he said.

I raised an eyebrow, pointed him, then held up two fingers.

"Whatever." We walked into the rec room and saw Beast Boy lounging on the back of the couch as a small panther. I smirked and crept behind him then grabbed his tail. Jumping back to avoid his claws, he growled angrily and huffed annoyed when he realized it was just me. Jaime was in hysterics and I was coughing again.

 _If you overstress your throat again, Abigail Wilson, I will not hesitate to use the medication and speed up the healing process._

I smirked, one idea running through my head and I heard the Scarab click in annoyance at the idea.

"Not funny, Blue!" Garfield said. "I was having a really good sleep!"

I shrugged, not really worried.

"She's very, very sorry, _ese,_ " Jaime said. I rolled my eyes and went to the fridge to grab an apple. I was about to take a bite then the speakers bellowed to life.

" _There's a breakout at Arkham and Green Arrow needs reinforcements with the rest of the Team on missions,"_ Canary said.

"Seriously?!" Garfield complained then ran out of the room. I looked at Jaime, gave him a quick hug and a whispered apology then ran out of the room.

 _Abigail Wilson, I am activating the medication._ I sighed as the armor slipped over my body and the medication entered my bloodstream. Gar, Canary, and I approached the Tube.

"What about coms?" Garfield asked.

"No time, and if we really need them, Malcolm showed Jaime the basics last week," Canary said as the golden light enveloped us. After a second, we emerged in Gotham and just as Connor had told me weeks before, I had to get used to carrying people because I had to grab Canary and fly all the way to the Asylum through the night sky. Beast Boy was beside us in the form of a large bird and screecched when he saw Arkham. It was quite a sight. Inmates were everywhere, the ones who were metas using their abilities and those without taking out guards. Green Arrow was clearly visible in the sea of orange jump suits.

"Glad you could make it," he said as we landed.

"Better late than never," Canary replied with a smirk. I glanced at Beast Boy and we shared a disgusted look before joining the action. I stapled down two inmates who were ganging up on a guard then turned when the Scarab warned me of an attack from behind.

"Oh, come on!" I yelled croakily as Clayface charged me with a roar. "Do we have-" I coughed repeatedly as my throat burned again. "-have anything that can take him down."

 _Use of the Plasma Cannon on low power would reduced him to brick but use at high power-_

"No, don't finish that…" I formed the cannon, put it at the lowest setting possible and blasted his arm. As the Scarab had said, his arm hardened and he roared in agitation.

"You won't get to do that twice, missy!" I rolled my eyes and repeated the process on his entire body, flying around him with one arm blasting plasma and the other staples at inmates. Within seconds, Clayface was just a really angry brick and a dozen inmates were stuck fast to the ground. I turned my attention to the large hole in the wall and was about to do something but then Green Arrow fired a volley of polyurethane-foam arrows which covered a good amount of the hole, trapping any remaining inmates inside and us out.

"Beetle!" I looked down at Canary who was with a guard. "Man-Bat's!"

I nodded and took off into the air.

 _The 'Man-Bat' is currently en-route towards Gotham Central Park._

I nodded and adjusted course, using the jetpack to increase my speed. Soon, a slight blob came into view and I yelled as loudly as I could, "Man-Bat!"

He turned and hissed at me, revealing two-inch-long fangs and a slimy pink tongue.

"I will add you to my armies!" he screeched and flew at me with incredible speeds. I dodged upwards and when he flew at me again, I spun behind him and kicked his back. He hissed again, hardly phased.

"Ah, man," I turned and flew back towards Arkham as fast as I could.

"Scarab?!" I asked desperately as he flew after me, slowly gaining, his claws scratching my feet painfully.

 _Recommended tactic: corner him on the ground and use plasma-_

"No!"

 _Exactly the same but with 'stapler' then knock unconscious._

"Perfect!" I yelled and dove sharply, missing Man-Bat's grab by inches. He roared in agitation and followed suit. Arkham came into view, Canary, Arrow and Beast Boy ready to help. I on a burst of speed, tempting Man-Bat then got dangerously close to the ground before pulling up. I hoped that he would fall for that trick, but he did the same as I did and managed to grab me, knocking me to the side and getting on top of me, his slobber getting all over the armor. He hissed triumphantly and lunged at my neck when suddenly,

"Beetle!" An unearthly scream filled the air, ripping across the grounds and causing all conscious beings to grip their ears in pain, but none as much as Man-Bat. He roared in pain, his large ears twitching and quivering at unimaginable speeds. I kicked him off of me and with that one extra kick, he was knocked into dreams of having a vampire army. The famous Canary Cry stopped, leaving the ringing in our heads to remind us never to make Black Canary angry.

"You okay?" Arrow asked as they ran up to me.

"Slobbery, but fine," I croaked, wiping a full handful of the stuff off of my chest. Beast Boy took a whiff of the stuff and grimaced.

"Smells like rotten fish and blood."

"Didn't need to know that," I grimaced and looked around. Guards were reactivating the inhibitor collars and handcuffing all prisoners to bring them back in.

"That was easy!" Beast Boy said.

"Almost too easy…" Canary said then her eyes widened. "Joker. Where's the Joker?!"

We all felt the same drop of the heart as we realized that fact. An Arkham breakout, the explosion from the outside, and no sign of the Clown Prince of Crime. The ground began to rumble, and before any of us could react, collapsed, covering us in darkness.

 **Jaime**

"What just happened?" I asked myself, looking at the screen, which had just been security footage of Arkham before it went dead. "Do you know what happened?"

Wolf yawned in response and scratched his large neck.

"Thought not…" I said and started as the teleporter whirred to life. The golden light shone brightly before forming Mal.

"Mal!" I yelled, running up to him.

"What's up, Jaime?" he asked.

"Canary, Arrow, Beast Boy and Blue went to Arkham to stop a prison break but then the ground collapsed o-or something," I said. "I-I don't know what happened o-or what to do!"

He scowled and ran up to the screen, rewinding the footage over and over again before trying to pull up coms.

"They didn't have time to," I said.

"Not that," he said. "Each com has a tracker. If whoever took them doesn't take out the coms, we can track them."

Another screen pulled up, showing four red dots moving slowly towards the docks of Gotham.

"They're in the sewers, heading to the dock, not sure why, though," he said. "We don't have any available water-related heroes. Aquaman's currently trying to control a riot in Atlantis with Lagoon Boy."

I thought about it for a second, then steeled myself up and said, "I can go. I can control water and I can get down there with oxygen."

"No, I can't send you down there," he said. "You're a rookie, too inexperienced. It'd be too dangerous for you. I can get Captain Atom to go down there when he's done with the riot in France."

"No! I'm sorry, but Abigail's my friend and I can't let her just sit there for who-knows-how-long!" I said.

"I said no, Jaime," he said. "I have orders from Black Canary to keep you here until you're trained enough to control your abilities."

I scowled, anger and fear pouring through me.

"Screw her orders." I transformed into my other self and summoned a small chunk of rock from behind him. With a grunt of effort, I pulled it towards me and hit Mal hard in the back of the head, knocking him out.

"Alright… tracker… tracker…" I whispered, rummaging around in the tech room. "Tracker!"

I plugged in their com signals and then ran into the tube, allowing myself to be teleported into Gotham.

 **Abigail**

I felt a slap across my face and I sat up straight, gasping and feeling a sharp pain in my cheek, even though the armor… it had been made weaker somehow… yeah, my throat was much more painful and back to making me mute.

"Finally. I was starting to wonder if you'd ever wake up," a Brooklyn-accented female voice said..

"Harley, leave that kid alone," another voice ordered, high and menacing. I heard her move away and opened my eyes. It was too dark to see clearly, but I saw the outline of a dozen or so people in front of me. I felt my hands and legs in bonds, strapping me to a metal sheet in a large 'X' shape. The Scarab's voice was gone, making the already extreme silence even more so.

"Beetle?" I turned my head and saw Green Arrow strung up just like me. A little ways to his left was Beast Boy and Canary, just like me, only Canary had a metal strap over her mouth.

"Oh, so that's who you are?" the male voice said and I heard a pencil on paper. "Little Birdie, Moldy Green Bean, Moldy Green Bean Jr. and Bug. What an interesting crew."

Lights snapped on and we all groaned as we were blinded temporarily. Once the spots faded, I saw that in front of was none other than the Joker, his girlfriend/servant Harley Quinn and their minions.

"What do you want, Joker?" Arrow asked.

"Simple," he said, walking up to Arrow and holding a knife to his face, "I want to know where all you little heroes hideout and play."

Arrow looked at the knife in fear but still cracked a grin.

"A little knife won't make me tell you anything like that," he said. Joker's wide grin spread even wider.

"Oh, I wasn't planning on using it on you. From what I've heard on the streets, you and pretty bird here are rather close," he said, holding to knife to Canary's bare neck. "It'd be a shame if she ended up a little carved. With Green Bean on the side maybe? Then when I get through the shell, an exotic dish of dung beetles?"

The knife moved to Beast Boy, who struggled against his bonds. A slap echoed around the room as Joker's hand caused his head to whip around and hit against the metal board. When he pulled away, I saw a trace of blood left behind.

"So who will it be first? The appetizer, main course, or dessert?" he asked viciously. Suddenly, Canary started to struggle violently and her torso started to heave.

"What are you doing?" Joker asked, walking over to her. She was heaving even more violently, looking very green.

He growled, "You're going to puke, and honestly, I think that's disgusting. You won't be able to scream with vomit coming out, so… here."

He grabbed an old bucket and unclasped her mouth guard, allowing a torrent of chunks to flow into the bucket. As soon as it finished, the clasp was back on and Joker had shoved the bucket into one of his henchmen's hands.

"Take that out, now. I can't stand the smell," he ordered then pulled out his knife again. "Now, where were we? Ah yes."

He held the knife to Beast Boy's arm. Garfield let out a cry as the knife created a long cut along his arm.

"Leave him alone!" I croaked.

"Tell me where you keep your goodies are, and then I will," he told Arrow.

"Don't worry about me!" Beast Boy said. "Don't tell him- ah!"

This time, the scream wasn't because of the knife. It was because the roof had begun to crack, sending water and pieces of rock dripping onto our heads. I looked at Arrow and we both gulped in as much air as possible as the roof collapsed in, flooding the room. All the goons were swept up and the metal floated up a bit before sinking back down. My lungs were burning as I struggled against my bonds. I looked up and saw the daylight shining far above me, blotting out every once in awhile as the goons swam to safety. Fifteen and I'm going to drown, strapped to a metal board and in my armor. What would happen to the Scarab? Would it detach or try and heal me? It wouldn't matter… I'd be dead...

As my lungs burned with a pain I had never felt before, the water around me suddenly shifted and tightened around my bonds. Then, they broke and the water wrapped around my waist and pulled me out of the water. I gasped and spluttered, feeling the armor come back to life and the Scarab starting to talk in a garbled voice.

 _You are low on oxygen, Abigail Wilson. I suggest that you take deep intakes of air._

"Would it kill you to say breaths?" I gasped.

 _The Jaime Reyes is in danger._

"How do you know? He's in the Cave!"

 _Negative. He is on the ground several feet away, having seizures and has a temperature too high for a person of his status._

I looked around and screamed, "JAIME!"

Sure enough, he was on the ground, convulsing, the stone in his chest glowing dangerously. A little ways away, I noticed Joker and Harley trying to get away and without much thought, stapled them to the nearby wall.

"Arrow!" I yelled as he freed Canary and Beast Boy. "He needs medical attention!" 

"Go! Get him to a Lab!" he yelled and I nodded, picking him up and flying away.

"Scarab?!"

 _Nearest location of a S.T.A.R. Labs: ten miles west._

I nodded, trying to keep a hold of him.

"Cool him down!" I yelled and felt the armor around my arms become cold as ice. As soon as I reached the building, I ran into the building and to the front desk, panting, "Help. My. Friend."

 **Jaime**

I opened my eyes as the repetitive beeping became too much to ignore. Bright lights blinded me slightly but when they faded, I was greeted by the bare walls of a hospital room.

"Jaime…?" I tilted my head and saw Abigail, still in her armor but her eyes clear of any orange armor, giving me a perfect view of her watery green eyes. "Jaime…!"

I cracked a smile and croaked, "Hey… how're you doing? I hear you're still very sick." 

"Forget about me! What about you?!" she said in a cracking voice. "You pushed yourself nearly to the limit of your powers! You flatlined once!"

"Really?" I asked, suddenly wary of how tired I was. "Well… I'm okay now. Joker?"

"In jail again," she said. "Good job." 

"I did something!" I said, lifting my arms in celebration then dropping them. "Ow… sore…"

"Yeah. Your powers thankfully include rapid healing, so you'll be out of here in two days."

"How badly did I hurt myself?"

"Most of it was mental but the stress hurt you physically pretty badly," she said and sighed. "I guess, speaking of injuries, I should ask you something… I was supposed to talk to your parents first… but now's better than ever… Jaime, the League wants you on the Team…?"

I looked at her and just… me on the Team?

"I-I don't know what to say…" I whispered, but deep down, I had already made my decision.

"You don't have to decide now-"

"I already did though," I interrupted, a grin spreading across my face. "Of course I'll join!"

"How long have you been waiting to say that?" she asked, a smirk forming.

"A while. I even have a name."

"Do you now?"

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "Element."


	10. Chapter 10

**~Chapter 10 - Longshadow~**

 **I DON'T OWN YOUNG JUSTICE OR ANYTHING DC RELATED**

The school lunch room was noisy, full of yelling students and food being chewed or thrown and music. I sat at my own little table as usual, not bothering anyone and muttering angrily to the Scarab. Although my lunch was healthy (a ham-and-cheese sandwich, carrots, an apple and some homemade orange juice), the Scarab was insisting that I needed more and resorting to stealing food from others to achieve that.

"No, we're not doing that! I have enough nutrients here! They bought that stuff and I'm not making them waste their own money!" 

_The amount of nutrients in this meal are low compared to the amount of food the others in this area are consuming. And you would have your own currency if you were to get a legal application to a business._

"It's called a diet. Gotta keep it for the Team, which is also why I can't get a job. I'd miss too much to be accepted. Besides, I'm only fifteen; have to wait until I'm sixteen, two more months," I said, biting into the sandwich. There was a flurry of movement by the door and Jaime came running in, pale and worried looking. People who saw him sniggered at his shirt, but he ignored them and stopped at my table, panting and looking worried.

"Abigail," he said, panting slightly as he stood in front of me. "Need your help." 

"What?"

"I think it's got to do with..." he said, his hand scratching towards his high-collared shirt.

"Okay," I said quickly, packing my stuff up and running out of the cafeteria to a small alley way just off-campus. After making sure that no one was around and all surrounding cameras were looped, I looked at Jaime and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Tye's missing," he said.

"What? Like, Tye Longshadow?" 

"The very same. Last night he called me and told me he was leaving for Houston because of Maurice-"

"Then he's in Houston," I interrupted.

"No. I went after him last night, but the depot was empty. When checked with the manager, he said that no one bought a ticket and no one boarded either," he said.

"You've got a free period next right?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's go! I got one too, we got to hurry though!" He nodded and we got into uniform, flying off towards Tye's home.

 _Your concern for the Tye Longshadow is trivial. You hardly know him or who he is and therefore, he is worthless towards our time. And the Jaime Reyes lied._

"What do you mean by that?" 

_He believes that this is a task that requires our abilities._

"Well, too bad," I said as we ran off campus, flashing our ID's at the security guard. "He's a friend of Jaime's so he's a friend of mine. Might need the armor but for hacking only. And it might need abilities to help us."

… _our armor is meant for greater purposes._

"Mind telling me what those are?" I asked politely, smirking.

The Scarab clicked noisily, annoyed and at a lost for excuses, reasons, and words to convey how much it wanted to kill everything and everyone with its' supposed 'greater purposes'.

Ten minutes later, we were at Tye's house, a small brown pueblo type home with cracking walls. Before entering, we made sure that no trace of travel was visible then Jaime stepped to the side, extending his hands towards the entrance 

"Ladies first," Jaime said and I rolled my eyes, knocking on the door. The door opened almost instantly and a worried looking woman stepped out. Her long hair was pulled into a loose, messy ponytail and dark circles were set under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept in days.

"A-Abigal. Jaime. W-What are you doing here?" Ms. Longshadow asked.

"We're looking for Tye, Ms. Longshadow. He called me last night and told me he was running away to Houston," Jaime said.

"He threatens to do that a lot," she said. "He's not going to follow through with it… right now he's probably blowing off steam somewhere."

"But he sounded serious about it this time," Jaime continued, "but according to the manager at the station, no one boarded or bought a ticket last night."

"Then he's not there and is on the outskirts of town for a bit," she said in a hopeful voice, but her face showed the truth. "Maurice, my boyfriend… he and Tye got into another argument last night and Tye left."

"From what we hear, there's a lot of 'arguments'," Jaime said. "What kind are they? Yelling or-"

The door opened and in walked the school janitor, Maurice Bodaway, looking angry as usual.

"Maurice… you're home early," Mrs. Longshadow said nervously. He glanced at us and just his glare sent shivers down my spine, making the Scarab buzz defensively.

"Forgot my lunch, Shelly," he said her name with a touch of venom. "What are you two doing here?"

"We're looking for Tye, Mr. Bodaway," I said. "We were just looking to see if he was here."

"Yeah, he left last night," he said then sneered. "Tail between his legs. Y'know, I'm a school employee and I know for a fact that the two of you are students. When I get back, your butts are being reported to Mr. Sanchez." 

"We're on free periods," Jaime said, getting up, his fist clenched tight.

 _The Maurice's bio-scans intents to harm._

I pursed my lips, biting back a retort towards the Scarab but Maurice took this small facial expression to offense and scowled. 

"Don't you be making faces at me, girlie," he said angrily. "Or I'll take care of you-"

"Don't threaten her _,_ " Jaime said, stepping in front of me. "So finish that sentence. Will you take care of her like you did Tye?" 

"You little punks!" he said, taking a step forward, swelling like La'gann.

 _Activating plasma cannon!_ The armor encased my hand as I shoved it into my pocket as Mrs. Longshadow stepped between Jaime and Maurice protectively.

"Look at the time," she said. "Your classes are starting soon, you really have to get going." 

She hustled us out the door and once the door had closed, she sighed, relaxing at once but her worried expression still solidly in place. It was almost as if Maurice's presence was always haunting her, making her fear for her safety everywhere she went.

"I'm sorry about Maurice. He had a rough night…"

"I hear he has a lot of rough nights," Jaime said. "Is there anywhere else he may have gone if he didn't go to Houston?"

"Yes, he stays with his grandfather sometimes, at the Happy Trails center," she said. "I'm sorry I couldn't help more." 

"It's fine," I said. "Thank you for your time, Mrs. Longshadow."

We walked away and once out of earshot, I said to Jaime, "So, we ditching or waiting for after school?" 

"We'll wait. We miss enough school as it is," he said.

I sighed and continued, "Jaime, you know that I can stand up for myself."

"Course! And I know where this is going, so I'm just going to say this now, it was instinct. I forgot for a second about our… predicaments and… yeah."

"Alright, that's all I was wondering," I said, smiling. "Thanks."

The day passed by painfully slow, each period agonizingly painful as the Scarab went on and on, answering each and every question before I had time to think about it, ridiculing my teacher's ways of doing their job, then the worst of it all, telling me which people in my classes could be, become or have been a threat. When the final bell rang, I couldn't have been happier to leave the school.

I saw Jaime waiting in the courtyard, sweating as he tugged at his shirt as usual. As I approached, I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see the one person who could make this day worse, Tara.

"Tara, I'm not in the mood for anything right now," I said, pushing back the armor. "I have something far more important than whatever you want."

Even though she was a few centimeters shorter than I was, her eyes burned a hole through me, but I didn't back down.

"I don't care. You're going to come with me and do as I say or I will make you regret it," she said in what she thought was an intimidating voice.

I rolled my eyes and plucked her hand off of my shoulder.

"For the last time, Tara, I'm not going to fall for your threats, I'm not taking off my shirt to show you why I wear baggy clothes, so please stop trying. Just, let me go about my business and we'll both be fine!" I said.

"Is there a problem here?" it was Maurice and he looked angry.

"No, sir," Tara said and after sending another glare at me, she left.

"Listen, girlie," he said. "You stay out of my families business and you'll be fine." 

"They're not your family," I said. "They're just people you keep around for the hell of it."

I left without another word and Jaime joined me in the nearby alley, where we changed quickly and took to the air.

"I'll meet you at the Trails," he said as he dipped through the air to stop at his house.

"Okay," I said and continued flying.

 _You should have allowed me to attack the Maurice and the Tara for threatening you._

"Aw, you do care," I said sarcastically. "How many times do I have to say that we don't kill. Ever!"

 _They wanted you harmed._

"No, they wanted me shaken and scared. If there are ever people that we need to be dealing with that pose a threat, which are a lot of people, we leave them scarred and alive not dead."

 _Understood but not taken into account. My programming tells me to destroy any threats, not leave them alive._

"I highly doubt that. Ted Kord wasn't one to design something with your power to kill everything and everyone. So stop making excuses for your bad attitude," I said.

I dropped my bag off at my house before heading to the Trails. Jaime was already there, sitting on a bench with Mr. Holling, so I landed outside before running in.

"Sorry I'm late," I said, shaking Mr. Longshadow's hand respectively.

"It's been a long time, Abigail. How are you?"

"I'm fine-"

"I'm really sorry to break this up, but we were wondering about Tye," Jaime said. "Have you seen him around lately?"

"Not lately," Mr. Longshadow said after taking a loud, slurping, gulp of water. "But I wouldn't worry about his whereabouts at the moment."

"Why would that be?" I asked.

"Tye comes from a long and ancient line of Mescalero Apache chiefs. Each one in succession has gone through a quest to find their destiny. I believe that is why Tye has left," he said.

 _The Holling Longshadow is withholding vital information. Suggested tactic: leave this location and interrogate the Maurice with extreme force._

"We believe that his mom's boyfriend, Maurice, had something to do with it," Jaime said.

"Maurice, he is an interesting subject. When Tye's father led our band, Maurice was jealous and now that Tye is our next leader, he has turned his jealousy upon him. But Maurice is just a pawn and has no role in Tye's quest. Nor yours," he said, staring Jaime and I dead in the eyes.

"What?" we asked at the same time.

"You seek answers to what has happened to you," he said, "but the answers will come to you. Jaime, that is when you will find identity and Abigail, you will find peace with the one inside."

 _He knows too much! You must eliminate him!_ The armor encased my hand again and Jaime stepped in front of me to hide the cobalt blue metal.

"It was nice to see you again, Mr. Longshadow," he said as I struggled with the armor. "Enjoy your… water!"

We ran out of the park and to a nearby alley where I finally pushed back the armor.

"What did he mean by that?" Jaime asked as I flexed my wrist, which was red and raw from the effort of keeping the armor under control.

"How should I know? The Scarab's not being much help and explaining, it's just telling me to go back and kill Mr. Longshadow."

 _You should. He knows too much about you and the Jaime Reyes's identities._

"Doesn't matter. He says that Maurice didn't take Tye, but do you really believe him?" Jaime asked me.

"Of course not," I said.

 _Your heartbeats indicates otherwise._

"I don't believe him," I repeated, more to the Scarab than Jaime, who was looking slightly skeptical.

"Alright, then tonight, we need to find him," he said.

"The school. I heard that he spends time there every day after he cleans up," I said.

"Then that's where we check," he said.

"Look at my little trainee, growing up and taking command," I said, elbowing him with a smirk. "They grow up so fast!" 

"Shut up," he said but couldn't help but crack a grin too. For the rest of the daylight hours, we simply relaxed and tried to ignore the flashbacks we would sometimes get to the less… simple missions. We tried to be normal teenagers, not ones forced to have these powers, fight supervillains or put ourselves in the line of fire for people that would never know what we did.

"Alright, let's go," Jaime said around eight and we left the house, heading for the school.

"There," I said, pointing to the shed at the back of the building. Maurice was rummaging inside, muttering under his breath. We watched him come out of the shed, lock it with a large padlock and then walked away, completely unaware of our presence. Once he was out of sight, I ran forward, the armor spreading over my arm to create an almost exact replica of the key to the lock.

 _The plasma cannon would have been a much more effective tactic._

"Not if Tye was in-"

"Ab!" I turned and saw a large, calloused hand descending upon me, grabbing my shoulder and throwing me to the ground. The wind was knocked out of me and the Scarab screamed, _Activating plasma cannon now!_

The armor forced its way out faster than I could stop it and the cannon was suddenly weighing my arm to the ground, buzzing with energy and power.

"No!" I muttered, grabbing it and trying to forcefully push it back in.

"Leave her alone!" Jaime yelled, running in front of me to hide the weapon.

 _Do not resist! He attacked and you must destroy the Maurice!_

"I just said… no!" I whispered and somehow managed to push the armor away, leaving my hand red, raw and burning.

"No cops?" Maurice asked, having asked something about them during my mental fight. "Then I guess the lesson will be taught by me."

"Did you teach Tye a lesson too?" Jaime asked, helping me to my feet. "Is that why you kept us away from the shed? Is he in there? Are you going to get rid of him so you can have the role of Chief?"

Maurice arched a large eyebrow then chuckled, "Kids, you got some funny ideas. I work jobs that pay, and Chief isn't one of those."

I looked at Jaime and said, "We don't buy it."

We ran to either side of him, ducking under his arms and throwing the shed door open. We were expecting to see Tye, tied up, bruised or just there, but we were greeted by mountains of DVD's and video games.

"You're a pirate?" I asked, stumbling back as he pulled up away from his illegal plastic.

"Yeah, if you know what's good for your health, you'll keep your noses out of it," he said, locking the shed again.

"What about Tye?!" Jaime insisted. 

"I don't know what happened to the punk kid," Maurice insisted, "and I don't really care."

He stomped off and the Scarab said, _The Maurice tells the truth._

"Jaime," I grabbed his arm as he tried to go after Maurice. "He's telling the truth. I'm sorry… we can still get him out of their lives for the DVD's."

He sighed, wrenching his arm from my grasp.

"Jaime-"

"I'm fine, Abigail… I'll see you tomorrow or at training," he said, turning into Element and flying away before I could say anything.

"He just needs to cool off," I whispered. "That's it…" 

_His aggression levels showed that was the truth._

"Okay… I need to go to the police, so just… shut up for a bit… please…"


End file.
